The Effect of a Hollow Fixture on Energy Dissipation of Ultrasonic Welded Carbon Fiber/Polyamide 66 Composite

In this study, the effect of the fixture configuration on ultrasonic welding of 4-mm-thick carbon-fiber-reinforced polyamide 66 (CF/PA66) composite with 30% mass fiber was evaluated. An analytical model to estimate the energy dissipation in the welding zone of lapped CF/PA66 samples was derived. Calculation analyses showed the energy dissipation at the faying interface of joints made from hollow-fixture ultrasonic welding (HFUSW) was about 25% higher than those made from conventional ultrasonic welding (CUSW) under the given process variables. This was primarily attributed to the almost total reflection at the workpiece-to-fixture interface in HFUSW. Experimental results indicated that the HFUSW joints exhibited a greater peak load and weld area than CUSW joints when the weld time was less than 2.1 s. The optimal weld time for CUSW and HFUSW processes were 2.1 and 1.7 s. When the weld time exceeded the optimal time, the joints occurred with a porous region, which was caused by thermal decomposition of the material, resulting in the decrease in peak load. Experimental and simulation results demonstrated the HFUSW process changed the propagation behavior of the ultrasonic wave and enhanced the energy dissipation at the faying interface. This study enriched the understanding of energy dissipation during ultrasonic welding of polymers.