Experimental and Numerical Development on Multi-Material Joining Technology for Sandwich-Structured Composite Materials
Creating connection points for sandwich-structured composites without losing technical performance is key to realising optimal lightweight structures. The patented LiteWWeight<sup>®</sup> technology presents cost-effective connections on sandwich panels in a fraction of a few seconds wit...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2021-10-01
|
| Series: | Materials |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/14/20/6005 |
| _version_ | 1797514074170327040 |
|---|---|
| author | Lucian Zweifel Igor Zhilyaev Christian Brauner Martin Rheme Gregor Eckhard Valentin Bersier Slobodan Glavaški Ricardo Pfeiffer |
| author_facet | Lucian Zweifel Igor Zhilyaev Christian Brauner Martin Rheme Gregor Eckhard Valentin Bersier Slobodan Glavaški Ricardo Pfeiffer |
| author_sort | Lucian Zweifel |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Creating connection points for sandwich-structured composites without losing technical performance is key to realising optimal lightweight structures. The patented LiteWWeight<sup>®</sup> technology presents cost-effective connections on sandwich panels in a fraction of a few seconds without predrilling. Ultrasonic equipment is used to insert a thermoplastic fastener into the substrate material and partially melt it into the porous internal structure. This creates a highly interlocked connection (connection strength is above 500 N) suitable for semi-structural applications. This study focused on the simulation and experimental validation of this process, mainly on the interaction between the pin and the substrate material during the joining process. The dynamic thermo-mechanical model showed reasonable agreement with experimental methods such as process data, high-speed camera monitoring or computed tomography and allowed the prediction of the connection quality by evaluation of the degree of interlock. The connection strength prediction by the developed model was validated within several various process setups, resulting in a prediction accuracy between 94–99% depending on the setup. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T06:26:28Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f0da82c8c1ca477c83807bc7d22b0252 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1996-1944 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T06:26:28Z |
| publishDate | 2021-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Materials |
| spelling | doaj.art-f0da82c8c1ca477c83807bc7d22b02522023-11-22T18:57:25ZengMDPI AGMaterials1996-19442021-10-011420600510.3390/ma14206005Experimental and Numerical Development on Multi-Material Joining Technology for Sandwich-Structured Composite MaterialsLucian Zweifel0Igor Zhilyaev1Christian Brauner2Martin Rheme3Gregor Eckhard4Valentin Bersier5Slobodan Glavaški6Ricardo Pfeiffer7Institute of Polymer Engineering, FHNW University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, Klosterzelgstrasse 2, 5210 Windisch, SwitzerlandInstitute of Polymer Engineering, FHNW University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, Klosterzelgstrasse 2, 5210 Windisch, SwitzerlandInstitute of Polymer Engineering, FHNW University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, Klosterzelgstrasse 2, 5210 Windisch, SwitzerlandMultiMaterial-Welding AG, Zentralstrasse 115, 2503 Biel, SwitzerlandMultiMaterial-Welding AG, Zentralstrasse 115, 2503 Biel, SwitzerlandMultiMaterial-Welding AG, Zentralstrasse 115, 2503 Biel, SwitzerlandMultiMaterial-Welding AG, Zentralstrasse 115, 2503 Biel, SwitzerlandKVT-Fastening AG (Bossard Group), Lagerstrasse 8, 8953 Dietikon, SwitzerlandCreating connection points for sandwich-structured composites without losing technical performance is key to realising optimal lightweight structures. The patented LiteWWeight<sup>®</sup> technology presents cost-effective connections on sandwich panels in a fraction of a few seconds without predrilling. Ultrasonic equipment is used to insert a thermoplastic fastener into the substrate material and partially melt it into the porous internal structure. This creates a highly interlocked connection (connection strength is above 500 N) suitable for semi-structural applications. This study focused on the simulation and experimental validation of this process, mainly on the interaction between the pin and the substrate material during the joining process. The dynamic thermo-mechanical model showed reasonable agreement with experimental methods such as process data, high-speed camera monitoring or computed tomography and allowed the prediction of the connection quality by evaluation of the degree of interlock. The connection strength prediction by the developed model was validated within several various process setups, resulting in a prediction accuracy between 94–99% depending on the setup.https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/14/20/6005joiningprocess modelling and simulationsandwich structuresnumerical analysisultrasonic technologypolymer composites |
| spellingShingle | Lucian Zweifel Igor Zhilyaev Christian Brauner Martin Rheme Gregor Eckhard Valentin Bersier Slobodan Glavaški Ricardo Pfeiffer Experimental and Numerical Development on Multi-Material Joining Technology for Sandwich-Structured Composite Materials Materials joining process modelling and simulation sandwich structures numerical analysis ultrasonic technology polymer composites |
| title | Experimental and Numerical Development on Multi-Material Joining Technology for Sandwich-Structured Composite Materials |
| title_full | Experimental and Numerical Development on Multi-Material Joining Technology for Sandwich-Structured Composite Materials |
| title_fullStr | Experimental and Numerical Development on Multi-Material Joining Technology for Sandwich-Structured Composite Materials |
| title_full_unstemmed | Experimental and Numerical Development on Multi-Material Joining Technology for Sandwich-Structured Composite Materials |
| title_short | Experimental and Numerical Development on Multi-Material Joining Technology for Sandwich-Structured Composite Materials |
| title_sort | experimental and numerical development on multi material joining technology for sandwich structured composite materials |
| topic | joining process modelling and simulation sandwich structures numerical analysis ultrasonic technology polymer composites |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/14/20/6005 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT lucianzweifel experimentalandnumericaldevelopmentonmultimaterialjoiningtechnologyforsandwichstructuredcompositematerials AT igorzhilyaev experimentalandnumericaldevelopmentonmultimaterialjoiningtechnologyforsandwichstructuredcompositematerials AT christianbrauner experimentalandnumericaldevelopmentonmultimaterialjoiningtechnologyforsandwichstructuredcompositematerials AT martinrheme experimentalandnumericaldevelopmentonmultimaterialjoiningtechnologyforsandwichstructuredcompositematerials AT gregoreckhard experimentalandnumericaldevelopmentonmultimaterialjoiningtechnologyforsandwichstructuredcompositematerials AT valentinbersier experimentalandnumericaldevelopmentonmultimaterialjoiningtechnologyforsandwichstructuredcompositematerials AT slobodanglavaski experimentalandnumericaldevelopmentonmultimaterialjoiningtechnologyforsandwichstructuredcompositematerials AT ricardopfeiffer experimentalandnumericaldevelopmentonmultimaterialjoiningtechnologyforsandwichstructuredcompositematerials |