Zweifel Lucian, Zhilyaev Igor, Brauner Christian, Rheme Martin, Eckhard Gregor, Bersier Valentin, Glavaški Slobodan, Pfeiffer Ricardo
Institute of Polymer Engineering, FHNW University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, Klosterzelgstrasse 2, 5210 Windisch, Switzerland.
MultiMaterial-Welding AG, Zentralstrasse 115, 2503 Biel, Switzerland.
Materials (Basel). 2021 Oct 12;14(20):6005. doi: 10.3390/ma14206005.
Creating connection points for sandwich-structured composites without losing technical performance is key to realising optimal lightweight structures. The patented LiteWWeight 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.
在不损失技术性能的前提下为三明治结构复合材料创建连接点是实现最佳轻量化结构的关键。获得专利的LiteWWeight技术能在短短几秒钟内为三明治面板提供经济高效的连接，且无需预钻孔。超声设备用于将热塑性紧固件插入基材并部分熔入多孔内部结构。这会形成一个高度互锁的连接（连接强度超过500 N），适用于半结构应用。本研究聚焦于该过程的模拟和实验验证，主要是连接过程中销钉与基材之间的相互作用。动态热机械模型与过程数据、高速摄像机监测或计算机断层扫描等实验方法显示出合理的一致性，并通过评估互锁程度来预测连接质量。所开发模型的连接强度预测在多种不同工艺设置下得到了验证，根据设置不同，预测准确率在94%至99%之间。
