Ultrasonic Welding of Magnesium–Titanium Dissimilar Metals: A Study on Thermo-mechanical Analyses of Welding Process by Experimentation and Finite Element Method

Abstract Ultrasonic welding is an effective ways to achieve a non-reactive/immiscible heterogeneous metal connection, such as the connection of magnesium alloy and titanium alloy. But the thermal mechanism of magnesium alloy/titanium alloy ultrasonic welding has not been defined clearly. In this paper, the experimental and the finite element analysis were adopted to study the thermal mechanism during welding. Through the test, the temperature variation law during the welding process is obtained, and the accuracy of the finite element model is verified. The microscopic analysis indicates that at the welding time of 0.5 s, the magnesium alloy in the center of the solder joint is partially melted and generates the liquid phase. Through the finite element analysis, the friction coefficient of the magnesium–titanium ultrasonic welding interface can be considered as an average constant value of 0.28. The maximum temperature at the interface can exceed 600 °C to reach the melting point temperature of the magnesium alloy. The plastic deformation begins after 0.35 s and occurs at the magnesium side at the center of the interface.