Welding of thermoplastics by means of carbon-nanotube web

M. Russello; G. Catalanotti; S. C. Hawkins; B. G. Falzon

doi:10.1016/j.coco.2019.11.001

Welding of thermoplastics by means of carbon-nanotube web

M. Russello, G. Catalanotti, S. C. Hawkins, B. G. Falzon

Western Sydney University

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

21 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

We report the welding of thermoplastic materials by means of embedded fully-aligned carbon nanotube (CNT) web. Layers of CNT web (each layer of which has a densified thickness of 50 nm) were placed between two polyether ether ketone (PEEK) films to create a resilient insert which was then embedded between two bonding interfaces. An electrical current was passed through the CNT webs to activate Joule heating, melting the insert and adjacent surfaces of the thermoplastic parts. Preliminary experiments on welded PEEK samples show that the tensile strength of the welded specimens reached 96% of the strength of the pristine material, even before optimizing the processing conditions. The potential of this welding technology is evident: the inserts are ultra-thin, highly flexible, so can conform to bonding surfaces of complex shape, and the anisotropy of the CNT-web provides an additional variable for optimizing the electro-thermal response.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	56-60
Number of pages	5
Journal	Composites Communications
Volume	17
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coco.2019.11.001
Publication status	Published - Feb 2020

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© 2019 Elsevier Ltd

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title = "Welding of thermoplastics by means of carbon-nanotube web",

abstract = "We report the welding of thermoplastic materials by means of embedded fully-aligned carbon nanotube (CNT) web. Layers of CNT web (each layer of which has a densified thickness of 50 nm) were placed between two polyether ether ketone (PEEK) films to create a resilient insert which was then embedded between two bonding interfaces. An electrical current was passed through the CNT webs to activate Joule heating, melting the insert and adjacent surfaces of the thermoplastic parts. Preliminary experiments on welded PEEK samples show that the tensile strength of the welded specimens reached 96% of the strength of the pristine material, even before optimizing the processing conditions. The potential of this welding technology is evident: the inserts are ultra-thin, highly flexible, so can conform to bonding surfaces of complex shape, and the anisotropy of the CNT-web provides an additional variable for optimizing the electro-thermal response.",

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AU - Russello, M.

AU - Catalanotti, G.

AU - Hawkins, S. C.

AU - Falzon, B. G.

PY - 2020/2

Y1 - 2020/2

N2 - We report the welding of thermoplastic materials by means of embedded fully-aligned carbon nanotube (CNT) web. Layers of CNT web (each layer of which has a densified thickness of 50 nm) were placed between two polyether ether ketone (PEEK) films to create a resilient insert which was then embedded between two bonding interfaces. An electrical current was passed through the CNT webs to activate Joule heating, melting the insert and adjacent surfaces of the thermoplastic parts. Preliminary experiments on welded PEEK samples show that the tensile strength of the welded specimens reached 96% of the strength of the pristine material, even before optimizing the processing conditions. The potential of this welding technology is evident: the inserts are ultra-thin, highly flexible, so can conform to bonding surfaces of complex shape, and the anisotropy of the CNT-web provides an additional variable for optimizing the electro-thermal response.

AB - We report the welding of thermoplastic materials by means of embedded fully-aligned carbon nanotube (CNT) web. Layers of CNT web (each layer of which has a densified thickness of 50 nm) were placed between two polyether ether ketone (PEEK) films to create a resilient insert which was then embedded between two bonding interfaces. An electrical current was passed through the CNT webs to activate Joule heating, melting the insert and adjacent surfaces of the thermoplastic parts. Preliminary experiments on welded PEEK samples show that the tensile strength of the welded specimens reached 96% of the strength of the pristine material, even before optimizing the processing conditions. The potential of this welding technology is evident: the inserts are ultra-thin, highly flexible, so can conform to bonding surfaces of complex shape, and the anisotropy of the CNT-web provides an additional variable for optimizing the electro-thermal response.

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DO - 10.1016/j.coco.2019.11.001

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VL - 17

SP - 56

EP - 60

JO - Composites Communications

JF - Composites Communications

ER -

Welding of thermoplastics by means of carbon-nanotube web

Abstract

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