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Engine.ering plastJ..cs which belong to the broa.d f~ro~~y of po~ymerB are tho~e
m5ter~~~$ _hich pO$~es high
These
~Qffib~nect w~th ether attr~ctive fe~tvr~$ $vCh ~$ exce11ent .:lnsul.at:. ion pr
e>pG!:rtie~. cr o e c o es Lo ra resistance and lJ..ght
weight make th.em
very use:Eu1 materJ..aJ.. i..n many
.:lndustries. nan~1y, automotive, aerospace~ e1e~tronics,
med.ical. and other domest.i..c: app~iance .i.nd.ustr.i..es. Increased use Q~ @n
ginesring p~astics has occur@d ~n
.!$ev-era~ i.ndustries, h@nc@ joi.ning of thes8 ma.teria..l.s beeomes an importa
nt ma.nufacturing operat~an.
~he techn~qu~$ avai.l.ab.l.e £o~ jo~o~n9 p.l.a$t~C$
(~) mech~n.i.ca.l. jQ~n.i.ng (screws, r~v@ts, pin fa~t~fi~r8,
and retaininq r.:tnqs). (2) acihes.:Lve bonciinq. and (3) we~di.ng. Mechanica1 j
oining offers an adv-antage in that the joints are not permanent. But the insert
:i.on of a
foreign :m~,tet'ii!ll thro,ugh a mounting hole gives rise to
stress concentrations
Mechanical fasteners also
Lncxea se the overall weight of the structure. Adhe,sive
bonding is a, process where an adhesive, eq , epc.xy , is
placed between the par-t s and allowed to cure with time.
Thi.s produces a joi.nt of adequate strength.
F!.lthough
adhesive bonding of'fers good strength in shear, it.s
tensile; bending, and peeling s t r enqt.b s are low. If the
]oint is not designed properly there is "ISO the problem
of stress concentration, The welding af plastics offers
distinct advantages in terms of weight savings and with 900d joint designs and p
roper process c6ntrol it provides excellent .jo Lnt. strength.
There are two types of enginee~1ng plastics~
T,hermoplastics, and Thermosets. A thermoplastic is one which can be deformed un
der: at elevated. 'temperatures due to the breakage o:f the Van de r Walls force
s between
m-olecule s [1]
Thermoplastics assume the shape. of the
mold when subjected t.o higb temperature and pressure and
become rigid upon cooling. A thermosetting plastic on
the other hand i. characterized by a 3-0 networK which is created by cross-linki
ng the chains of molecules
together.
This re ee.r i ce e the slip between molecules.
Since strong primary covalent bonds exist throughout the structure, thermosettin
g plastics only char and burn at elevated temperatures. From thiS' it can be inf
erred that only thermoplastics can be welded.
Thermoplastics can again be divided into amorphous and semicrystalline types. An
amorphous thermoplastic is one which is characterized by a disordered structure
. A semicrystalline thermoplastic is that which exhibits some crystallinity ie.
presence of some crystal like ordered structure. It has been observed in the cas
e of amorphous thermoplastics that there is generally. a glass transition temper
ature (Tg) at which the material's viscosit.y
suddenly drops and it softens.
The glass transition
temperature is the point where the thermal expansion
coefficient a, undergoes a discontinuity [2]. Below Tg there is a loss of mc Le
cu La r mobility which creates a definite change in the viscoelastic behaviour o
f the
polymer.
A semi crystalline thermoplastic also has a
q La ss transition temperature but the viscosity is still quite high at this tem
perature. This type of plastic experiences a larger drop in its viscosity after
the temperature is above its melting point (Tm) [3]. These
differences clearly indicate that the welding parameters used to join amorphous
and semicrystalline thermoplastics will be considerably different. Since Tm is g
reater than Tg it would take a longer time to reach Tm than it would to rea.ch T
g. This implies that a greater amount of energy is required by a semicrystalline
thermoplastic for the onset of softening and flow.
The are a number of processes for welding thermoplastics. Hot gas, hot plate, re
sistance implant, and induction implant require an external heating source. Ultr
asonic welding, friction welding, and vibration welding rely on the heat generat
ed by the mechanical movement within or between the parts [4].

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