Technological Features of Ultrasonic Welding of Polymer-Based Composite Materials

The possibility of connecting polymer-based composite materials by ultrasonic welding is fundamentally confirmed. Ultrasonic welding is tested on structures consisting of several layers of polymer composite materials. The maximum number of layers that can be connected by a single-pass sound impulse is 4 to 6. When welding unidirectional composite materials, it is proposed that an intermediate filler made of the same polymer be used, in the form of a fine-mesh wire. This allows increasing the portion of the binder on the welded surfaces and artificially creating stress risers in the welding zone to shift the maximum temperatures to the boundary of the welded surfaces. Materials of various thickness can be connected by ultrasonic welding.  The optimal thickness is 1–2 mm because when welding thinner materials, there is significant heat dissipation into the material of the waveguide tool or anvil. When composites of more than 2.5 mm thickness are welded, there is significant scattering and attenuation of the ultrasonic welding energy in the welded material. Technological methods are developed that ensure preservation or restoration of the initial orientation of the polymer binder in the composite.

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