ADVANCEMENTS IN WELDING TECHNOLOGY FOR COMPOSITE-TO-METALLIC JOINTS

The manufacturing and sale of aerospace, transportation, and civil str uctures invariably require joining components of different materials a nd compositions. Because manufacturers are constantly being pressured for lower cost and reduced weight, multiple materials are being combin ed in many products. Structural joining technology for dissimilar mate rials is in the infancy of its development for these application areas . This paper summarizes efforts to attain suitable joint strengths wit h dissimilar substrates (aluminum and carbon fiber-reinforced thermopl astic composites) through advancements in resistance welding technolog y. These efforts are centered around incorporating an automated resist ance welding unit into a potential production process. Process develop ment work addressing important variables such as pressure, processing time, power level, substrate surface treatment and durability will be presented, with the impact of these variables being measured by lap sh ear tensile strength, nondestructive examination and microscopic analy sis.