Title: TENSILE BEHAVIOR OF REPAIRED THERMOPLASTIC COMPOSITE JOINTS THROUGH ULTRASONIC WELDING

Authors: W. Li, G. Palardy

DOI: 10.33599/nasampe/s.23.0009

Abstract: Joints in assembled thermoplastic composite (TPC) structures are susceptible to damage during their service life and threaten their structural integrity. It is crucial to develop effective repair methods to enable the recovery of structural strength and improve repair quality. In this regard, as assembly of TPC joints through welding is gaining importance, there is a need to assess their potential for repairability. In this work, repair of ultrasonically welded joints with multifunctional nanocomposite films is investigated. Herein, single lap shear joints were repaired by welding nanocomposite films (multi-walled carbon nanotube/polypropylene (MWCNT/PP)) sandwiched between glass fiber/polypropylene (GF/PP) adherends. Mechanical properties under tensile loading and the effect of repeated repair operations (three cycles) on the lap shear strength (LSS) were investigated, and a comparison was made between MWCNT/PP film repaired specimens and control specimens (pure PP film). The PP film repair indicated significant potential to reinstate LSS with 94.5 %, 89.4 %, and 86.7 % of initial specimen LSS for each cycle, while the strength could be partially restored with MWCNT/PP film. Moreover, during mechanical testing, electrical resistance measurements at the welded interface provided in-situ real-time structural health monitoring (SHM) for damage mechanisms of repaired GF/PP joints, in addition to fractography analyses after repair cycles. Overall, the repair capability of the ultrasonic-assisted technique for TPC joints was confirmed in this study and MWCNT-based nanocomposite films showed potential for real-time damage detection of repaired joints.

References: 1. Yu X., Fan Z., Puliyakote S., and Castaings M. "Remote monitoring of bond line defects between a composite panel and a stiffener using distributed piezoelectric sensors." Smart Materials and Structures 27(3) (2018): 035014. 10.1088/1361-665X/aaa69b 2. Sahoo C. K., Bhatia G. S., and Arockiarajan A. "Effect of patch-parent stacking sequence and patch stiffness on the tensile behaviour of the patch repaired carbon-glass hybrid composite." Thin-Walled Structures 179 (2022): 109551. 10.1016/j.tws.2022.109551 3. Khashaba U. A., and Najjar I. M. R. "Adhesive layer analysis for scarf bonded joint in CFRE composites modified with MWCNTs under tensile and fatigue loads." Composite Structures 184 (2018): 411-427. 10.1016/j.compstruct.2017.09.095 4. Ji X., Zhou W., Sun H., Liu J., and Ma L.-h. "Damage evolution behavior of bi-adhesive repaired composites under bending load by acoustic emission and micro-CT." Composite Structures 279 (2022): 114742. 10.1016/j.compstruct.2021.114742 5. Rito R. L., Crocombe A. D., and Ogin S. L. "Health monitoring of composite patch repairs using CFBG sensors: Experimental study and numerical modelling." Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing 100 (2017): 255-268. 10.1016/j.compositesa.2017.05.012 6. Cao D., Hu H., Wang Y., and Li S. "Experimental and numerical studies on influence of impact damage and simple bolt repair on compressive failure of composite laminates." Composite Structures 275 (2021): 114491. 10.1016/j.compstruct.2021.114491 7. Loh T. W., Ladani R. B., Ravindran A., Das R., Kandare E., and Mouritz A. P. "Z-Pinned composites with combined delamination toughness and delamination Self-Repair properties." Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing 149 (2021): 106566. 10.1016/j.compositesa.2021.106566 8. Bhatia G. S., and Arockiarajan A. "Fatigue studies on patch repaired carbon/epoxy woven composites." Composites Part B: Engineering 175 (2019): 107121. 10.1016/j.compositesb.2019.107121 9. Hall Z. E. C., Liu J., Brooks R. A., Liu H., Crocker J. W. M., Joesbury A. M., Harper L. T., Blackman B. R. K., Kinloch A. J., and Dear J. P. "The effectiveness of patch repairs to restore the impact properties of carbon-fibre reinforced-plastic composites." Engineering Fracture Mechanics 270 (2022): 108570. 10.1016/j.engfracmech.2022.108570 10. Zhou W., Ji X.-l., Yang S., Liu J., and Ma L.-h. "Review on the performance improvements and non-destructive testing of patches repaired composites." Composite Structures 263 (2021): 113659. 10.1016/j.compstruct.2021.113659 11. Loh T. W., Ladani R. B., Orifici A., and Kandare E. "Ultra-tough and in-situ repairable carbon/epoxy composite with EMAA." Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing 143 (2021): 106206. 10.1016/j.compositesa.2020.106206 12. Li G., Ji G., and Zhenyu O. "Adhesively bonded healable composite joint." International Journal of Adhesion and Adhesives 35 (2012): 59-67. 10.1016/j.ijadhadh.2012.02.004 13. Barroeta Robles J., Guthrie A., Dubé M., Hubert P., and Yousefpour A. "An approach to the repair of thermoplastic composites using resistance welding with a hybrid heating element". SAMPE Conference Proceedings. Charlotte, NC, May 23-26, 2022. Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering pp. 14. Jongbloed B., Teuwen J., Benedictus R., and Villegas I. F. "On differences and similarities between static and continuous ultrasonic welding of thermoplastic composites." Composites Part B: Engineering 203 (2020): 108466. 10.1016/j.compositesb.2020.108466 15. Jongbloed B., Vinod R., Teuwen J., Benedictus R., and Villegas I. F. "Improving the quality of continuous ultrasonically welded thermoplastic composite joints by adding a consolidator to the welding setup." Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing 155 (2022): 106808. 10.1016/j.compositesa.2022.106808 16. Köhler F., Villegas I. F., Dransfeld C., and Herrmann A. "Static ultrasonic welding of carbon fibre unidirectional thermoplastic materials and the influence of heat generation and heat transfer." Journal of Composite Materials 55(15) (2021): 2087-2102. 10.1177/0021998320976818 17. Palardy G., Shi H., Levy A., Le Corre S., and Fernandez Villegas I. "A study on amplitude transmission in ultrasonic welding of thermoplastic composites." Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing 113 (2018): 339-349. 10.1016/j.compositesa.2018.07.033 18. Tsiangou E., Kupski J., Teixeira de Freitas S., Benedictus R., and Villegas I. F. "On the sensitivity of ultrasonic welding of epoxy- to polyetheretherketone (PEEK)-based composites to the heating time during the welding process." Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing 144 (2021): 106334. 10.1016/j.compositesa.2021.106334 19. Tsiangou E., Teixeira de Freitas S., Fernandez Villegas I., and Benedictus R. "Investigation on energy director-less ultrasonic welding of polyetherimide (PEI)- to epoxy-based composites." Composites Part B: Engineering 173 (2019): 107014. 10.1016/j.compositesb.2019.107014 20. Zhao T., Rans C., Fernandez Villegas I., and Benedictus R. "On sequential ultrasonic spot welding as an alternative to mechanical fastening in thermoplastic composite assemblies: A study on single-column multi-row single-lap shear joints." Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing 120 (2019): 1-11. 10.1016/j.compositesa.2019.02.013 21. Barroeta Robles J., Dubé M., Hubert P., and Yousefpour A. "Repair of thermoplastic composites: an overview." Advanced Manufacturing: Polymer & Composites Science 8(2) (2022): 68-96. 10.1080/20550340.2022.2057137 22. Frederick H., Li W., and Palardy G. "Disassembly Study of Ultrasonically Welded Thermoplastic Composite Joints via Resistance Heating." Materials 14(10) (2021): 2521. 10.3390/ma14102521 23. Frederick H., Li W., Sands W., Tsai E., and Palardy G. "Multifunctional films for fusion bonding and structural health monitoring of thermoplastic composite joints". SAMPE Conference Proceedings. Virtual, 4-7 May, 2020. Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering. pp. 24. Li W., Frederick H., and Palardy G. "Multifunctional films for thermoplastic composite joints: Ultrasonic welding and damage detection under tension loading." Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing 141 (2021): 106221. 10.1016/j.compositesa.2020.106221 25. Li W., and Palardy G. "Mechanical/electrical properties of MWCNT/PP films for structural health monitoring of GF/PP joints". ACCE Conference. Novi, MI, 2-4 November, 2021. SPE Automotive and Composites Divisions. pp. 26. Li W., and Palardy G. "Electro-Mechanical Response of Ultrasonically Welded Thermoplastic Composite Interfaces under Static and Cyclic Flexural Loads Using Nanocomposites." ACS Applied Polymer Materials 4(7) (2022): 5209–5223. 10.1021/acsapm.2c00737 27. Li W., and Palardy G. "Damage monitoring methods for fiber-reinforced polymer joints: A review." Composite Structures 299 (2022): 116043. 10.1016/j.compstruct.2022.116043 28. Farahani R. D., and Dubé M. "Novel heating elements for induction welding of carbon fiber/Polyphenylene sulfide thermoplastic composites." Advanced Engineering Materials 19(11) (2017): 1700294. 10.1002/adem.201700294 29. Farahani R. D., Janier M., and Dube M. "Conductive films of silver nanoparticles as novel susceptors for induction welding of thermoplastic composites." Nanotechnology 29(12) (2018): 125701. 10.1088/1361-6528/aaa93c

Conference: SAMPE 2023

Publication Date: 2023/04/17

SKU: TP23-0000000009

Pages: 14

Price: $28.00