Simulation of Temperature and Weld Growth Mechanism in Ultrasonic Welding of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polyamide 66 Composite: Employing the High Frequency Real-Time Horn Vibration

Abstract

Ultrasonic welding (UW) of carbon fiber reinforced polyamide 66 (CF/PA 66) composite is a very promising process for assembly of automobile component. Simulation of the temperature distribution and weld growth in UW process remains a difficulty issue. In this study, a high frequency sensor is equipped in the welder to collect the real-time horn vibration during UW. Then the real-time horn vibration is integrated into the finite element model in Abaqus. The simulation results are validated with experimental tests of temperature and weld evolution in UW of CF/PA 66. Results showed the ultrasonically welded CF/PA 66 joint made with a weld time of 2.7 s consisted of five distinct stages and the characteristics in stage 3 determined the quality of the weld. An index Q based on the amplitude and duration of T3 was proposed to evaluate the joint quality. The accuracy of Q was also verified through extensive experiments.

Keywords: Ultrasonic welding, Carbon fiber reinforced polyamide 66, Simulation, Temperature evolution, Weld growth