Friction spot joining of TC4 alloy and ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene: Focused on temperature-force relationship

Surface Structuring via Additive Manufacturing to Improve the Performance of Metal and Polymer Joints

“…Temperatures higher than 250 °C were optimal for joining. Here, although the maximum temperature difference was ~40 °C , the temperature range was still controlled at the appropriate joining temperature (250-300 °C ), which was proven by our previous research results [9,18]. Meanwhile, the UHMWPE did not degrade severely until being heated to 400 °C [18].…”

“…Since it is difficult to achieve effective direct bonding between TC4 and non-polar UHMWPE [9,17,18], different surface structures were designed on the metal plates to enhance the macromechanical interlocking. The parameter details of the surface structures are shown in Table 3, while the models and printed plates with different surface structures are presented in Figure 1.…”

“…However, previous studies have indicated that the diamond-shaped architecture might not be satisfactory configurations for complete filling of UHMWPE into TC4 porous layers, leading to macro and microdefects of the joints, although the scaffolds exhibited good structure strength [9,18]. In addition, the pore size, porosity, and strut size would also affect the mechanical strength of the porous architecture, in turn affecting the performance of the joint [19][20][21].…”

“…To enhance the joint strength of non-polar UHMWPE and TC4, mechanical interlocking is a better choice. Thus, complex structures are normally fabricated on the surfaces of metals [8,9,[13][14][15][16][17][18]. For example, inspired by the roots of mangrove trees, Alsheghri et al [13] introduced a new mechanical interlocking technique to strengthen metal-polymer interfaces by manufacturing Y-shaped features on metallic surfaces using laser sintering.…”

“…By structuring grid arrays on the Al plate, they demonstrated that the microscopic structure of the metal plate was a major factor in the joining strength, which promoted the micromechanical interlocking. Until now, there has been little research on the joining of UHMWPE to TC4, except for the work by Chen's group [9,17,18]. According to Chen et al, UHMWPE and TC4 were successfully joined via friction spot joining (FSpJ), which was achieved by manufacturing a diamond-shaped porous architecture on a TC4 plate via electron beam melting (EBM) technology.…”