Heat distribution simulation and effects of ultrasonic welding amplitude on carbon fiber/polyetherimide composite joint properties

This work focuses on the effects of ultrasonic welding amplitudes on carbon fiber reinforced polyetherimide (CF/PEI) composite joint properties. The interface temperature measurement, single-lap shear tests and fracture morphology observation were used to evaluated on welding specimens with different welding amplitude. The accuracy of the temperature measurements was verified by the temperature field simulation of COMSOL. The analysis of mechanical strength and fracture morphology of joints were performed by tensile testing machine and SEM. The results indicated that PEI resin of the joint interface fully melted and the joints with good quality were formed under the appropriate welding amplitude. However, the excessive welding amplitude resulted in the extreme melting of PEI resin of the joint interface, which deteriorated the mechanical properties of joints.