This review paper presents the current progress in the development of resistance welding techniques for thermoplastic composites, with a particular emphasis on their application in hybrid joints, such as those involving thermosetting composites and metals. Resistance welding, a fusion bonding method, offers significant advantages over adhesive bonding and mechanical joining by eliminating the need for additional adhesive materials and enabling integration into automated manufacturing processes. The study highlights the unique benefits of resistance welding, including lower energy consumption compared to other methods and its compatibility with automated manufacturing, which can reduce production costs by up to 40%. Key findings from the literature indicate that resistance welding is particularly effective in achieving strong, durable joints for complex and large structures, such as those used in the aerospace industry. The review also identifies the main challenges associated with resistance welding, including temperature control, current leakage in carbon-fiber-reinforced polymers, and potential corrosion when using metal meshes. To address these challenges, various strategies are discussed, including surface treatments, the use of nanocomposites, and the integration of carbon nanotubes. The review concludes by emphasizing the need for further research to optimize welding parameters and to develop non-destructive testing methods for industrial applications, ensuring the reliability and long-term performance of welded joints.

Thermoplastic composites are growing in popularity in the aerospace and automotive industries; they enable weldable and recyclable structures. Resistance welded hybrid thermoplastic and metal joints are attractive for rapid assembly, but the thermal mismatch between metals and polymers introduces residual stresses, which can drive edge debonding and compromise durability. This study presents fabricated single-lap PC/CF–Al7075 coupons with measured mid-span bow resulting from welding, evaluated bond quality by step-heating thermography, and an evaluated framework for residual stress prediction using Ansys complemented by a bimetal analytical check. Three thermal cycles were examined with different temperature gradients (200, 220, 240 °C): the measured bow was 16.5 mm and remained constant, whereas analytical calculation increased with ΔT similarly to the FEM prediction. The current FEM under predicted the bow (Mean Absolute Percentage Error is 21%), showing stress contours that decay with distance from the bond and revealing pronounced peaks in both σ_xx and σ_zz components at weld edges, consistent with shear-lag theory. FEM returned edge-peaked peel rising from 43 to −64 MPa and σ_xx was up to 12% more compressive than analytical calculation; an effective CF/PC CTE of 1.5 × 10⁻⁶ K⁻¹ reconciled curvature with test better than catalogue values. The temperature insensitive bow is attributed to polycarbonate flow/viscoelastic relaxation above Tg and hot relaxation in aluminum, with effects not represented in the elastic models. Edge peel and shear govern initiation risk.

Thermoplastic composites enable weldable, recyclable aircraft structures, but thermal mismatch between metals and polymers can introduce detrimental residual stresses. This study develops a finite element method (FEM) framework to predict residual stress fields in resistance-welded joints between aluminum 7075 and carbon-fiber-reinforced polyamide 6 (PA6). Transient thermal analyses with multilinear, temperature-dependent properties were coupled to mechanical analyses; contact conditions transitioned from frictional to bonded at PA6 melting. Three thermal cycles (20°C→220°C→20°C, 20°C→240°C→20°C, 20°C→260°C→20°C) were examined to assess peak-temperature effects. The simulations show stress contours that decay with distance from the bond and reveal pronounced peaks in both normal and shear components at weld edges, consistent with shear-lag theory. Within the bonded interior, average stresses are relatively low, whereas edge concentrations identify likely sites for debonding or delamination initiation. The magnitude of residual stresses increases with thermal gradient, underscoring the need for parameter control during welding. The FEM outputs will be validated against uniaxial tension and three-point bending tests on welded specimens, with future work quantifying fatigue-life reduction under combined thermal and mechanical cycling. The results highlight mitigation priorities for bonded repairs and hybrid aerospace structures, including process-curve tuning (current/pressure/cooling) and edge-region design measures.