Comparative study of the performance of heating elements in electrical resistance welding in composites PEI/carbon fibers

• Grant number: 13/26510-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: May 01, 2014
• End date: April 30, 2015
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Aerospace Engineering
• Principal Investigator: Michelle Leali Costa
• Grantee: Natália di Giuseppe Quan
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Engenharia (FEG). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Guaratinguetá. Guaratinguetá , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The electrical resistance welding is already known and widely used in the process of joining sheet metal. However, composites do not conduct electrical current, making it difficult to use this method for their union, consequently requires the introduction of resistive material to promote the passage of the current in the interface to be welded. This heating element is considered a crucial part of the process for composite electric resistance and is essential for transmitting the energy required for welding of these materials. Since the metal mesh cannot be removed after the weld, it is considered as a "contaminant", nonetheless is the foremost contributor to the quality of the joint. The aim of this study is to comparatively evaluate the performance of two heating elements (stainless steel of different metal mesh and carbon fiber) in electrical resistance welding of composite PEI/carbon fibers. Therefore, mechanical tests (Lap Shear and Iosipescu) and thermal analysis (DMA-Dynamic mechanical analysis and TMA- thermomechanical analysis) will be conducted with morphological tests of optical and electronic microscopy. Moreover, composites samples produced by metal mesh and carbon fiber will be submitted in a ultraviolet radiation chamber environmental conditioning and then evaluated by mechanical test, thermal and microscopy analysis.