Research progress in induction implant welding of thermoplastic composites

Abstract

Induction implant welding (IIW) of thermoplastic composites (TPC) is a new technology which uses the heat from the electromagnetic induction heating element implanted in the lap region of TPC laminate under the action of high-frequency alternating magnetic field to melt the thermoplastic resin in the interface area to achieve the connection of TPC structure. The technology has the advantages of simple operation, green efficiency, non-contact, etc., and has received extensive attention from the industrial sector in the past 30 years. Focusing on the IIW process of TPC, the influence of heat generation mechanism, heating effect, welding process parameters on the performance of welding joints was systematically introduced in this paper. Among them, the causes of uneven temperature in the welding area were explained, the method of regulating the temperature distribution in the welding area was presented, and the relationship between the uniformity of the temperature field and the quality of the welded joint was revealed. Finally, some problems faced by the APC structure IIW technology and its future development directions were also discussed.

Keywords

• thermoplastic composites
• induction implant welding
• heating mechanism
• temperature field uniformity