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Surface-conformed approach for mechanical property analysis using ultrasonic welding of dissimilar metals

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Abstract

In this paper, dissimilar aluminum (Al) and copper (Cu) metals were joined together using ultrasonic metal welding (USMW), a solid-state welding technology. From the perspective of increasing the base metal welding contact area, the Cu/Al mating surface was innovatively prepared and ultrasonically welded. A comprehensive analysis was carried out on the forming quality, welding process temperature, interface structure, and mechanical properties of the welded joint. Defect-free and squeezed welds were successfully achieved by machining novel patterns especially C4-2. The results indicated that the reference joint can withstand higher loads, but its failure mode is very unstable. Failure may occur at welded interface and on the aluminum plate which is not good for actual production applications. Welded strength of reference joint was 4493 N, and the welded strength of C4-2 joint was 3691 N. However, microscopic analysis discovered that the welded joint internal morphology in C4-2 was more stable and hardest. C4-2 joint has successfully achieved higher tensile strength and stability under failure displacement of 38% which is higher than C4-1 joint. All welded joint failures occurred on aluminum plate, indicating that the joint strength is higher than that of bottom plate. This is attributed to unique structural design of chiseled joint and lesser thickness. SEM–EDS results investigated that the C4-2 joint can transfer more energy to area under welding head which provides welded joint with robust diffusion capacity. The transition layer has a higher thickness while the energy transferred to area away from welding head was smaller. Thickness of transition layer is significantly reduced and reference joint has similar diffusion characteristics. Conversely, the thickness of the transition layer at the corresponding position is smaller than that of pattern morphology. This is due to overall smaller thickness of the pattern joint which is more conducive to the transfer of welding energy. The surface-conformed approach and comprehensive temperature analysis provide a new understanding of USMW in dissimilar welded metals.

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Data availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Funding

This research is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant no. 12104324); Postdoctoral Science Foundation of China (No. 2021M703392); Scientific Research Startup Fund for Shenzhen High-Caliber Personnel of SZPT (No. 6022310046 K); and Postdoctoral Startup Fund of Shenzhen Polytechnic University (No. 6021330001 K and No. 6022331008 K).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Ultrasonic Technology, Shenzhen Polytechnic University, Shenzhen, 518055, China

    Zeshan Abbas, Jianxiong Deng & Lun Zhao

  2. Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, 518055, China

    Zeshan Abbas

  3. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Blekinge Institute of Technology, 37179, Karlskrona, Sweden

    Md Shafiqul Islam

  4. School of Mechanical Engineering, Guizhou University, Guiyang, 550025, China

    Jianxiong Deng

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  1. Zeshan Abbas
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Correspondence to Lun Zhao.

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Abbas, Z., Deng, J., Zhao, L. et al. Surface-conformed approach for mechanical property analysis using ultrasonic welding of dissimilar metals. Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-024-13538-3

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