HEATING MEANS FOR THERMOPLASTIC BONDING

摘要

A heating element for providing localized heating during the thermoplastic bondi ng of thermoset composite structures is disclosed. Various construction details are developed which disclose an apparat us and method for uniformly heating a bond line. In one embodiment, a heating element (22) includes a resistance heating material (24) sandwiched between two layers of electrical insulation (25) and encased within a layer of thermoplastic material (26). Low r esistance electrical leads (28), which extend across the width of the resistance heating material, and a power supply (30) provide el ectrical energy to raise the temperature of the resistance heating material.