Investigations on mechanical and structural aspects of ultrasonic hybrid polymer mixture welding for industrial applications

Polycarbonate (PC) and ABS materials have several beneficial characteristics which facilitates its application in various industrial sectors, while developing products based on these polymers it is essential to enable the scope of its weldability feature. Considering this critical factor, researchers have been involved in investigating the weldability behavior of the above-mentioned polymers. However, there are no complete reports addressing the feasibility of welding of polymer mixtures. It has been observed that combination of two polymers with proper understanding of inbuilt chemical structures has yielded a hybrid polymer whose properties in terms of its strength, chemical bonding, structural integrity, and range of flexibility are higher. Hence, in this study, a pivotal attempt is made to develop a hybrid polymer with a combination of 60 % PC and 40 % ABS. Further, the polymer is subjected to ultrasonics to examine the conduciveness of this material for welding. The parameters controlling the weldability using ultrasonic's are also varied within a range in order to identify the optimum parametric values. Subsequently, the welded specimens are tested for evaluating its strength and quality. Tests from the insight of chemical engineering is also carried out to access the chemical structural stability and to monitor the formation of the plastic which preferably adopts a thermoplastic feature. The results establish the feasibility and credibility of these polymers for welding which is the industrial demand.