Thermoplastic joining using solar energy concentrator

The harnessing of solar energy for processing thermoplastics using a solar concentrator is detailed. The application of this relatively new method is driven by manufacturing industry demands for alternative environmentally friendly manufacturing methods for processing plastics. In this paper the attempts made by the authors to explore the feasibility of utilising concentrated solar beam radiation for joining engineering thermoplastics such as Polyethylene (High density), Polypropylene, Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC Rigid) and Polystyrene are presented. Tensile tests were conducted to determine the bond strength achieved at the specimen joint interface and was compared with the bond strength of the parent material for each thermoplastic. Research into the effect of variation of parameters such as standoff distance, weld time and idle processing temperature along with the analysis of the tensile strength of the resultant bond is discussed. The advantages and limitations of the solar energy concentrator technique are assessed, and necessary improvements of the joint technique are recommended. This development work was undertaken to demonstrate another environmentally friendly applications of solar energy particularly as an alternative joining process for the plastics processing industries.