Study on resistance welding of glass fiber reinforced thermoplastic composites

Thermoplastic polymer industry has expanded a new impact with the introduction of Eco-friendly thermoplastic matrix composites (TPCs), which finds applications in medical, aerospace, electronic and automotive areas. Joints of non-conductive thermoplastic composite materials are processed by Resistance Welding (RW) by incorporating a conductive corrosion resistive conductive material, as an interlayer. Glass fiber reinforced polypropylene thermoplastic composite sheets were used for this study. The experimental set-up for resistance welding was fabricated. Welding current, clamping pressure and welding duration (Time) are the control parameters. The joining trials on composites were carried out using Taguchi method to reduce time and cost effective experimental studies. The effect of parameters which govern the quality of resistance welding of thermoplastic composites is also emphasized in this work. The purpose of this study is to determine the optimum process parameters for RW. The joints obtained were analyzed microscopically; it revealed the good integration of thermoplastic composite with the interlayer material. The mechanical strength of the joints is tested through lap shear strength testing.

► A Taguchi technique was used to design the experimental plan.
► TPC were joined by Resistance welding setup.
► TPC joints were characterized by mechanical and metallurgical study.
► Statistical method was used for parameter optimization of TPC joining.