Resistance welding of thermoplastics in aerospace structure

摘要

Rib and spar webs are joined in a composite wingbox to eliminate fasteners by welding the webs along bondlines defined by overlapping sections of the webs. Heat to produce the weld is generally achieved resistively by connecting a multistrip susceptor positioned along the bond line to a current source, since the geometry makes it difficult to heat these web joints inductively. The wingbox is completed without fasteners by welding skins to the rib-spar wingbox.