An Electrical Resistance Joining Technology for Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Polyphenylene Sulfide Composites

This paper proposes a fusion bonding technology with electrical resistance heating for carbon fiber-reinforced plastic using polyphenylene sulfide thermoplastic resin with 60% carbon fiber (CFRTP), and suitable bonding conditions are investigated experimentally. The concept of the fusion bonding system is that the thermoplastic resin in the CFRTP sheet is heated to near its melting point of 280°C via electric charging after clamping two CFRTP sheets at high pressures, 310 kPa, using electrodes made from aluminum rods. The heating temperature was controlled using the electrical resistances (5-20 O) between the two CFRTP sheets which were controlled using the exposed carbon fiber (CF) on the CFRTP surface: a lower exposure rate gives a higher electrical resistance, e.g., 15 O for CF20% and 5 O for CF80%. In addition, the sample temperature was dependent on the electric current and the electric charging time. Two CFRTP sheets were successfully bonded using the fusion bonding system with the maximum strength of more than 30 MPa, where an electric current of 4.0 A was applied for 10 s. The bonding strength was attributed to changes in the material properties, especially the bonding resin. The hardened bonding resin was created from heat processing at 250°C, which led to a high bonding strength.