Resistive Implant Welding of Glass Fiber Reinforced Polypropylene Compounds 2006-01-0332

Resistive Implant Welding (RIW) is a technology that has the potential to join large thermoplastic automotive components. It involves placing an electrically conductive implant between two parts that are mated under pressure. Heat, dissipated at the interface by direct current, causes melting, flow and ultimately welding to occur. This research examines the RIW of long-glass-fiber reinforced polypropylene (LGF-PP) to continuous-glass-fiber reinforced polypropylene (CGF-PP) using a stainless steel mesh-implant. The effects of welding time, applied current, and weld pressure on the temperature near the mesh, meltdown and the compression-shear strength of the welds were assessed. The results show that it is possible to attain shear strengths of the order of 20 MPa under optimized welding conditions. The meltdown and strength correlate well with a semi-empirical lumped parameter dependent on weld-time, current squared and pressure.