Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2004. / Title from first page of PDF file. Document formatted into pages; contains xix, 253 p.; also includes graphics (some col.). Includes abstract and vita. Advisor: Karl Graff, Dept. of Industrial, Welding and Systems Engineering. Includes bibliographical references (p. 223-230).

Thesis (MTech (Electrical Engineering))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2009 / This thesis presents the design and development of a multicell inverter for ultrasonic plastic welding applications and other ultrasonic applications. An overview of the main multilevel topologies is given, but this research focuses on the multicelll inverter, because of its capacitor voltage balancing properties. Loading effects of various plastic materials to an ultrasonic plastic welding tool are provided in this thesis. A simple method to create an approximate electrical equivalent circuit of the ultrasonic welding tool, using an impedance analyser, loaded with different plastics is discussed and illustrated. Experimental results of the four-level multicell inverter driving a resistive load and an ultrasonic transducer tool are presented in this thesis. These results provide proof that the multicell inverter topology is capable of driving a non-linear load. The inverter was tested with the ultrasonic load as an ultrasonic plastic welder and an ultrasonic drill. The welding joints on the plastic samples are also evaluated in order to evaluate whether or not this solution is suitable for plastic welding. The ultrasonic drilling results are also shown in this thesis. It is further illustrated that the ultrasonic tool and power supply combination may be used in other ultrasonic applications.

Existing methods of joining automotive aluminium alloys are either expensive (Self Pierce Rivets) or di cult to implement (Resistance Spot Welding). Ultrasonic spot welding (USW) is a new alternative method using ~2% of the energy of resistance spot welding. USW is a solid state welding process that combines vibration and pressure at the interface of a joint to produce a weld. Much of the existing research focuses testing under laboratory conditions, using simple coupon sample geometry, and has proven to be an extremely robust process. This thesis shows a detailed investigation into the implementation of USW on automotive body panels, in collaboration with Jaguar Land Rover. Weld performance, bonding mechanisms and temperature gradients found in AA5754 align well with other research conducted using 6XXX series aluminium alloys. A laboratory trial was completed to verify all joints could be achieved on a Jaguar XJ dash panel, followed by installation of a USW machine in a production cell. A detailed statistical analysis was performed on strength and sticking data gathered from 60 Jaguar XJ dash panels that were welded in the trial. Results showed difficulty to apply USW in certain areas of the panel, although previous trials had suggested it was possible. A collaboration with Ford Motor Company allowed research to be conducted at the Ford Research and Innovation Center. Experiments were designed to discover which elements of the USW equipment had the most profound effect on weld strength, and a full factorial Design of Experiments was produced to and the most effective method of reducing variation in weld strength. Results showed that the vibrational response of complex geometry parts makes USW very difficult to predict, making it difficult to successfully implement in the automotive industry.

Thesis (M.S.)--Worcester Polytechnic Institute. / Keywords: welding; ultrasonic. Includes bibliographical references (p. 100-101).

The ultrasonic welding of Cu110, electrolytic tough pitch copper sheet to electroless plated laminate circuit board was experimentally investigated within the range of 20 kHz. The effects of machine parameters; energy, amplitude and pressure as well as material characteristics such as surface roughness, gauge, temper, and silver and gold plating schemes were compared through pull tests and analysis of microstructure. Evidence was discovered which attributes plastic deformation, mechanical interlocking, and acoustic softening to the mechanism of weld formation. It was further determined that ultrasonic welding of Cu110 sheet to silver immersion laminate circuit boards as means of electrical termination is a robust process. Therefore it was the goal of this thesis to understand the mechanism of ultrasonic welding and determine if ultrasonic welding to laminate circuit boards is an alternative to soldering electrical terminations.

Thesis (M.S.)--California Polytechnic State University, 2009. / Title from PDF title page; viewed on Nov. 10, 2009. "June 2009." "In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree [of] Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering." "Presented to the faculty of California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo." Major professor: John Ridgely, Ph.D. Includes bibliographical references (p. 91-97).

Thesis (M.M.S.E.)--University of Delaware, 2009. / Principal faculty advisor: John W. Gillespie, Dept. of Materials Science. Includes bibliographical references.

Ultrasonic welding is one of the leading technologies for joining multiple, thin sheets of dissimilar materials, such as copper and aluminum, for automotive lithium-ion batteries. The performance of ultrasonic welds, particularly the fatigue life, however, has not been well studied. In this work, a theoretical fatigue life model for ultrasonically welded joints was developed using continuum damage mechanics. In the model, the damage variable was defined as a function of the increase of the joint electrical resistance, resulting in an electrical resistance-based fatigue life prediction model. The fatigue model contains two constants to be determined with experimental data, depending on different fatigue loads and joint properties. As an application, the fatigue life model was validated for Al-Cu lithium-ion battery tab joints. Mechanical fatigue tests were performed under various stress loading conditions for welds made using different welding parameters. It is shown that the developed model can be used to predict the remaining life of the ultrasonically welded battery tab joints for electric and hybrid electric vehicles by monitoring the electrical resistance change. In addition, thermal and electrical fatigue tests were performed for Al-Cu battery tab welds using simulated operating conditions of electrical vehicles. These included temperature cycling between -40 and 90 °C and current cycling of 0 to 10 A. All the tests were conducted on individual weld joints. The results showed that the thermal and electrical loads imposed insignificant effect on the electrical resistance of the battery tab joints. / text

Thesis (M. S.)--Ohio State University, 2008. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 168-170).

Friction joining techniques, such as Friction Stir Spot Welding (FSSW) and high power Ultrasonic Welding (USW), could offer a solution for joining dissimilar materials combinations, such as aluminium (Al) to magnesium (Mg), where high intermetallic reaction rates make the use of conventional joining techniques problematic. Ultrasonic welds have been produced between 1 mm gauge Al 6111-T4 and Mg AZ31-H24 sheets, and the interfacial reaction has been studied as a function of welding time. For this welding system, the mechanical properties of the joints were optimised when a double reed welding system was employed to join materials that had been prepared using 800 grit SiC paper under a clamping force of 1.9 kN, and when the materials were oriented with the rolling direction parallel to the vibration direction. Welds produced between Al and Mg achieved similar peak lap shear strengths to those produced between Mg and Mg at welding times of 0.4 s, but the failure energy of the Al-Mg welds was less than half that of the parent material. In addition, the Al-Mg welds always failed at the interface between the sheets, rather than the desirable, and more energy intensive, pullout mechanism. The inferior mechanical properties were attributed to the rapid formation of a brittle intermetallic layer that initially formed as islands of the γ-Al12Mg17 phase. These islands rapidly spread and became continuous within 0.3 s of welding time, at which point a second sublayer of the β-Al3Mg2 phase began to form on the Al side of the intermetallic reaction layer. The combined layers reached a total thickness of 20 µm within 0.9 s of welding time, with the β-Al3Mg2 sublayer becoming the thicker of the two by this point. At longer welding times, interface liquation was observed at temperatures below the recognised lowest temperature eutectic reaction in the Al-Mg binary phase diagram. This was the result of the alloying elements present in the system and there was no depression in the melting point as a result of the high strain rate associated with this process, as has been proposed elsewhere. The rate of growth of the intermetallic layer during welding was higher than in static heat treatments, which was most likely due to the deformation causing microcracking in the brittle intermetallic layer, allowing short circuit diffusion to occur, and enhancing the growth rate by a factor of approximately 2. Finally, attempts were made to limit the rate of intermetallic compound (IMC) formation by applying coatings to the Mg sheet. The effect of the coatings was to reduce the overall IMC layer thickness by 50 %.