Computational Modelling and Thermal Analysis of

Slotted Horn for Ultrasonic Insertion Process

A. Kavin Bharathi. P, B. Elangovan. S, C. Anand. K

A. Student, Master of Engineering, Department of Production Engineering, PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore, India
B. Associate Professor, Department of Production Engineering, PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore, India
C. Assistant Professor, Department of Production Engineering, PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore, India

A. Corresponding Author’s E-mail: kavinsakthiii@gmail.com

Abstract

Use of plastics in structural and non- structural applications is increasing rapidly. The material used for
manufacturing horn should have high fatigue strength and low acoustic losses. The horn is the only part of the ultrasonic
insertion system which is unique to each process. The resonant frequency of horn is usually determined numerically using
Finite Element Method (FEM). Block horns used in ultrasonic insertion process have more weight and the amplitude of
vibrations transmitted is uneven. Slotted block horns provide an advantage by having less weight and the longitudinal
direction. The required slots can introduce additional problems, although these can be reduced through careful design.
Also, the temperature at the interface of the thermoplastic component and the metal insert is very important in order to
obtain the rigid parts. In this work, the ultrasonic horn will be fabricated for the optimized results using Aluminium for
multiple insertions at a time. Modal and harmonic analysis of the horn is done using CAE software. The temperature at
the interface of the thermoplastic component and the metal insert will be calculated by using the numerical calculations.
This will be compared with the results of thermal analysis done using ANSYS software. Finally, the components will be
fabricated and the experiment is carried out in the ultrasonic plastic welding machine using the fabricated horn.

Keywords: Ultrasonic Welding, Thermal Analysis, Metal Insertion, Slotted Horn, Finite Element Method.

I. INTRODUCTION
Ultrasonic insertion is the process of embedding or encapsulating a small metal component into a
thermoplastic part. This process replaces the costly, time consuming, conventional method of injection molding
plastic around the metal component known as insert molding. An endless variety of part configurations can be
inserted - flat, round, etc.; the most common being round, threaded inserts. In ultrasonic insertion, a hole slightly
smaller than the insert diameter is either molded or drilled into the plastic part. This hole provides a certain degree
of interference and guides the insert into place. The metal insert is usually designed with exterior knurls, undercuts,
or threads to resist loads imposed on the finished assembly. Ultrasonic insertion can be accomplished by two
methods, one method is about the horn can touch the insert, driving it into the plastic part and in another method
the horn can touch the plastic part, driving it over the insert. The main objective of this work is to design and
manufacture the thermoplastic component in which the metal insertion can be done, to design a slotted block horn
and fabricate it according to the optimized conditions for ultrasonic insertion of metal inserts into the thermoplastic
components and to carry out the thermal analysis for the assembly of metal insert and thermoplastic component
in order to obtain the interface temperature.

II. LITERATURE REVIEW

Several types of ultrasonic horns were developed so far. Models based on different approaches and
techniques have been constructed to enhance the process performance and efficiency. In order to find out the
optimized set of input parameters and also to identify the effect of each towards a particular output, researchers
have been trying for years together. A brief review on literature on ultrasonic horn designing and modal, harmonic
simulation by ANSYS also development of mathematical model is needed for the optimization of the ultrasonic
horns for insertion process.
Anand and Elangovan [1] have been tried to optimize the ultrasonic inserting parameters to achieve
maximum pull out strength of ultrasonic insertion process. Cardoni et al [2] have been investigated the design
requirements of block horns which operate as intermediate components in ultrasonic systems. Patrick et al [3]
have been investigated the effect of manual and ultrasonic insertion of standardized class I inlays using three
composite resin materials of different viscosity. Roopa Rani et al [4] have been developed different ultrasonic
horns from materials a made a study on thermo-elastic heating of the horns used in ultrasonic plastic welding.
Roopa Rani and Rudramoorthy [5] have been tried computational modeling and experimental studies of the
dynamic performance of ultrasonic horns. Suresh et al [6] have been done the modeling and of temperature
distribution in ultrasonic welding of thermoplastics for various joint designs. Lin [7] has been derived an equation
for the resonance frequency for the design of the longitudinal-torsional composite ultrasonic exponential horns.
Ganeshamoorthi et al [8] have been studied about the optimizing technique used in ultrasonic metal welding of
copper sheet and copper wire. Ioan-Calin et al [9] have been developed the design and characterization of an
axisymmetric ultrasonic horn held by its circumference, with specified working frequency, amplification factor
and nodal point position. Siddiq and Ghassemieh [10] have been attempted to simulate the ultrasonic welding of
metals by taking into account of effects of surface and volume.
Elangovan et al [11] have been developed a model for the temperature distribution during welding and
stress distribution in the horn and welded joints. Arthur et al [12] have been developed a model for the mechanics
(oscillating deformation), heat transfer including viscoelastic heat generation and friction dissipation, and degree
of adhesion (intimate contact and healing) for the initial transient heating phase. Numerical resolution was
performed using a multi-physical finite element code. Kaifeng et al [13] have been studied on Effect of interfacial
preheating on welded joints during ultrasonic composite welding. Mantra et al [14] have been studied on the
control parameters like vibration amplitude, weld pressure and weld time are considered for the welding of
dissimilar metals like aluminum (AA1100) and brass (UNS C27000) sheet of 0.3 mm thickness. Chen and Zhang
[15] have been developed a three-dimensional finite element model to study the temperature distribution and heat
generation in ultrasonic welding process. From the above research papers, various design and performance of
different types of horns, material vibrational characteristics, welding of thermoplastics, techniques to evaluate the
parameters were studied and understood. Modal, harmonic analyses for the different horn profiles were done by
using ANSYS software are studied. The finite element method for calculating the interface temperature and the
derivations of thermo-mechanical problem has been studied. In this project, for the optimized dimensions the horn
will be fabricated and the thermal analysis will be carried out to find the interface temperature thus, the literatures
from the finite element methods are helpful in doing the simulations as well as compare it with the experimental
results.
III. DESIGNING OF HORN

The actual slotted horn will be designed after the thorough study on the existing horn profiles. The energy
of vibrations is non-uniformly distributed along the length of the horn with velocity/amplitude being greater at
the tip of the horn than at the booster end. The commonly used horn profiles in the industry are Stepped and
Catenoidal. For the present study slotted block horn is considered. The performance of a horn is usually assessed
by the amplification factor or ‘gain’ that can be achieved at the horn face/end. The gain ‘ʋ’ is defined by the ratio
of output amplitude (A2) to input amplitude (A1). The basic requirement for a gain is when the amplitude factor
‘ʋ’ > 1.
Different horn shapes give different gain depending on the variation of their cross sections. For a
cylindrical horn the gain in amplitude is ‘1’ as it is of uniform cross section. The length of the horns is measured
from the horns available in the laboratory. Usual horn profiles include cylindrical, Bezier, catenoidal, stepped and
block. When a sonotrode or horn is made for an existing facility, its frequency should be matched. The length of
the sonotrode should be half the wavelength of vibrations through the material. Thermoplastic component is also
designed and used to predict the interface temperature using ANSYS software. Then it is compared with the
numerical results. Geometry of slotted block horn and thermoplastic component for ultrasonic insertion are shown
in Figure 1 and 2 respectively.

Fig. 1. Geometry of Slotted block horn

 Fig. 2. Thermoplastic component for slotted horn
A. Modal analysis

To determine the mode shape and natural frequency of a horn, modal analysis is carried out. They are
the important parameters in the design of the part for dynamic loading conditions. Depend upon the applications,
horn shape is modeled by using 3D software package and imported to ANSYS software with parasolid file (.xt).
The model meshed by using Tetra 10 node 187 SOLID element with a fine mesh size of 3. Material model is then
specified as linear, elastic, isotropic and properties such as young’s modulus, Poisson’s ratio and density of the
material were specified. Mode extraction is carried out in the frequency range 19 - 21 KHz using Block-Lanchoz
option.

B. Harmonic analysis

A harmonic analysis of the horn is carried out to find the displacement and stresses experienced by the
horn in the given frequency range. The displacement amplitude produced by the machine 23.4 µm. The output is
amplified by the booster which is placed after the transducer. The displacement at the booster end-23.4 µm is
given as the input or the forcing function to the horn for performing the harmonic analysis. The horn is constrained
to longitudinal movement by locking it to a nut. This analysis shows the displacement amplitude at the end of the
horn which can be used for insertion process.

c. Thermal analysis

The uniform temperature at the outside of the thermoplastic component is assumed as 35°C. Convective
heat transfer is applied to the outer surface of the thermoplastic component. The temperature developed at the
weld interface is directly proportional to the square of amplitude of the ultrasonic vibration, the applied frequency
and the loss modulus of the material being welded and is given by the equation, Roopa Rani and Rudramoorthy
[5]:
𝜔∈2 𝐸′′
Q= J / m3s
2
In this equation, natural frequency ω = 2πf (f = 20 kHz), ϵ = strain amplitude (ratio of displacement amplitude at
horn end to the length of the ABS part) and E’’ = loss modulus of the material being welded. It is assumed that
whatever amplitude is produced by the horn is available for the insertion process. From Eq. (1) the heat flux for
the height of the energy director (1 mm) is calculated and is expressed in W/m2.
Heat flux in energy director = Q × height of energy director W/m2 …. (1)
The heat flux value is given to the weld interface surface. Time increment is given as 2 and the total weld time is
given as 6.
D. Experimentation

The experimentation has been done in the ultrasonic plastic welding machine (20 kHz and 1500 W)
manufactured by National Indosonic, Bangalore was used for carrying out the ultrasonic insertion. Thermoplastic
component made of Acrylonitride Butadiene Styrene (ABS) are used for the study. The slotted block horn is
attached to the booster end, which is used to drive the insert into the hole in the thermoplastic component. A
fixture has been fabricated and used to hold the thermoplastic component in place during the experimentation.
The temperature at the interface of the ABS plastic parts is measured in real time using a DAQ (Data acquisition
system). The DAQ includes, sensors -‘k’ type thermocouple, terminal block-TBX-68T, National Instruments
DAQ card - 4351 and LABVIEW software is used to obtain the temperature vs time graph form the
experimentation. Three experimental trials have been conducted and the results are noted down. The process
parameters, weld time of 3sec, holding time of 3sec and machine frequency of 20000 Hz are maintained during
the experimentation.

V. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

Mode extraction is carried out in the frequency range 19 - 21 kHz. The modal analysis of Slotted block
horn has been carried out for a single mode in the given frequency range which is desirable. Two or more modes,
close to the axial mode will result in modal coupling, which reduces the efficiency of the horn and is to be avoided.
The longitudinal or axial mode is the required mode shape. The natural frequency of the longitudinal mode
obtained in the modal analysis for the slotted horn is shown in Figure 3. The natural frequency of the longitudinal
mode obtained in modal analysis for slotted horn profile is 20494 Hz.

Fig. 3. Frequency profile of Slotted horn

The slotted horn profile is consisting of an undercut and a slot in the center of the profile. So, this, slotted
horn profile is balance with respect to the longitudinal axis and have an even amplitude at the horn end. The
maximum displacement (amplitude) obtained in harmonic analysis for slotted horn profile is 29.4µm. Figure 4
represents the displacement obtained for the slotted horn profile.
 Fig. 4. Displacement profile of Slotted horn

The maximum temperature obtained from the thermal analysis of slotted horn profile is 106.7°C. The simulation
result is shown in Figure 5.

Fig. 5. Temperature profile of Slotted horn

The welding process is carried out for total time of 6 sec. Figure 4 represents Temperature vs Time graph
for slotted horn. In this figure the insertion process starts at 6 th sec and ends at 12th sec. the maximum temperature
obtained is 103.65 °C

Fig. 6. Temperature vs Time graph for slotted horn

The slotted block horn profile is simulated through the ANSYS software and obtained natural frequency
of 20494 Hz, displacement of 29.4µm and the interfacial temperature of 106.7°C. and the same obtained from the
experimentation is 103.65°C. The temperature difference between the experiment and the simulation results are
within the range (2.85%). If the amplitude gets increased the rubbing action between the thermoplastic component
and the brass insert will get increase, there by the temperature at the interface will also increase. Temperature
obtained for slotted horn profile from the simulation is considerably equals the temperature obtained from the
experimentation. The slotted horn profile consists of difficult geometry which leads to complexity in mathematical
calculation. Thus, the frequency and displacement of this horn profile is calculated through the simulation.

VI. CONCLUSION

From this work, the Slotted horn profile was designed and the modal and harmonic analysis of the horn
was done. The horn has been manufactured using the optimized design conditions. The temperature at the interface
between the thermoplastic component and the brass insert is calculated from the simulation and the
experimentation. The temperatures were compared. The frequency and displacement profiles were obtained by
modal and harmonic analysis. The displacement at the horn end will be minimum for this type of horn when
compared to others. The frequency also higher than the other horn profiles. The temperature obtained at the
interface in simulation is more or less equals the temperature obtained from the experimentation. So, this horn
profile is suitable for multiple insertion at a time. At this could eliminate the time taken by the injection molding
machine.
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