Ultrasonic spot welding of dissimilar materials: characterization of welded joints and parametric optimization

Material joining is one of the key manufacturing processes used to assemble metallic and non-metallic parts for several applications. But the industries are facing many difficulties in joining of thin sheets of dissimilar metals by the conventional welding process because of their differences in chemical composition, physical and mechanical properties. Thus, ultrasonic welding is a solid state joining process used for joining of small elements in microelectronics industries. In this process, acoustic horn and booster are the important assets. The accuracy and strength of the welding depend mainly on their geometry. This proposed work deals with the design and modelling of an acoustic stepped sonotrode with booster using finite element analysis (FEA). From this analysis, the actual length of the horn is obtained by gradually decreasing its theoretical length. The quality of the weld is reckoned by its weld strength and the combinations of different process parameters. These are examined using the principal components coupled with grey relational analysis approach which is showing good agreement between the predicted values with experimental results. Fractographic examination of weld zone and hardness are also used to explore the weld quality. (paper)