In industrial refrigeration, automotive cooling, and new energy fields, aluminum heat exchangers occupy a core position due to their lightweight, high-efficiency thermal conductivity, and corrosion resistance. The quality of the welding process directly determines their heat exchange efficiency, sealing performance, and service life. Ultrasonic welding technology, as a novel solid-state joining process, is gradually replacing traditional welding methods and has become a key technology in the manufacturing of aluminum heat exchangers due to its low-temperature, high-efficiency, and environmentally friendly characteristics.
The core of ultrasonic welding for aluminum heat exchangers lies in utilizing high-frequency mechanical vibration of 28-40kHz to precisely transfer energy to the contact interface of aluminum components, achieving a strong connection through frictional heat generation and molecular diffusion. Unlike traditional fusion welding, this process does not require high-temperature melting of the base material. It only breaks the dense oxide film on the aluminum surface through vibration, allowing pure aluminum atoms to form a metallurgical bond under pressure. This fundamentally solves the industry pain points of porosity, cracks, and deformation in aluminum welding, while also avoiding the use of flux, achieving green and clean production.
Compared to traditional brazing and fusion welding processes, ultrasonic welding has significant advantages in the manufacturing of aluminum heat exchangers. Firstly, ultrasonic welding boasts extremely high welding efficiency, requiring only milliseconds to several seconds per weld, several times more efficient than traditional processes, making it suitable for large-scale mass production. Secondly, it produces superior joint quality, with weld strength reaching over 80% of the base material and extremely low thermal resistance, maximizing the preservation of aluminum's thermal conductivity and improving exchanger efficiency. Thirdly, the welding process minimizes the heat-affected zone, effectively preventing deformation and oxidation of aluminum components, eliminating the need for subsequent straightening and cleaning processes, and significantly reducing production costs.
Currently, ultrasonic welding technology is widely used in the production of various aluminum heat exchangers, covering products such as automotive radiators, air conditioning condensers, new energy battery liquid cooling plates, and industrial coolers. In the automotive sector, its lightweight advantages contribute to energy conservation and emission reduction, while the weld's sealing ensures long-term stable operation of the cooling system. In the new energy sector, the low-temperature welding characteristics prevent damage to battery liquid cooling plates, ensuring safe and efficient battery heat dissipation. Furthermore, this technology can also achieve reliable connections between dissimilar materials such as aluminum and copper, further expanding the application scenarios of aluminum heat exchangers.
As industrial manufacturing upgrades towards high efficiency, environmental protection, and precision, ultrasonic welding technology is continuously being optimized and iterated. Through intelligent parameter control and improved welding head structure, the welding precision and stability have been continuously improved, gradually adapting to the welding needs of thinner and more complex aluminum components. In the future, combined with artificial intelligence and automation technology, ultrasonic welding will achieve intelligent optimization of process parameters and precise control throughout the entire process, driving the manufacturing of aluminum heat exchangers towards higher quality, lower cost, and more environmentally friendly directions, injecting new impetus into the upgrading of related industries.
