Submerged ultrasonic plastic welding: A computational and experimental investigation

Thermoplastics hold utmost importance in the day-to-day life of modern-day society, being widely employed in water transport and storage vessels commonly made from thermoplastics such as PVC, i.e., polyvinyl chloride, and PP, i.e., polypropylene. This urge for a joining technique is applicable even with water in the vessel or the submerged case. The present investigation explores ultrasonic welding as an option to weld thermoplastics in water-submerged conditions. We have performed FEM simulations and experimental validation to prove the viability of the proposed ultrasonic welding process used in welding PVC and PP in water-submerged conditions. The discussed results demonstrate a decrease in melting and degradation of adherend material at the weld interface while welding PVC and PP in water-submerged conditions and attaining 65.78% and 107% of weld strength, unlike their open-air counterparts, respectively.