AUTHOR=Villegas Irene Fernandez 

TITLE=Ultrasonic Welding of Thermoplastic Composites

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Materials

VOLUME=6

YEAR=2019

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/materials/articles/10.3389/fmats.2019.00291

DOI=10.3389/fmats.2019.00291

ISSN=2296-8016

ABSTRACT=<p>Ultrasonic welding is a very fast and energy-efficient technique for the joining of thermoplastic composites. This article looks into main aspects of ultrasonic welding of continuous fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composites, namely energy directors, process parameters, <italic>in situ</italic> process monitoring, welding of dissimilar composite materials and upscaling routes. From the author's viewpoint these are key topics for deepening our insight into the ultrasonic welding process and, eventually, for enabling its future industrialization.</p>