Towards Sustainable Metal-to-Polymer Joining: A Comparative Study on Friction Stir Welding, Self-Piercing Riveting, and Adhesive Bonding

Ali A. Barakat, Aser A. Ahmed, Basil M. Darras () and Mohammad A. Nazzal
Additional contact information
Ali A. Barakat: Department of Mechanical Engineering, American University of Sharjah, Sharjah 26666, United Arab Emirates
Aser A. Ahmed: Department of Mechanical Engineering, American University of Sharjah, Sharjah 26666, United Arab Emirates
Basil M. Darras: Department of Mechanical Engineering, American University of Sharjah, Sharjah 26666, United Arab Emirates
Mohammad A. Nazzal: Department of Mechanical Engineering, American University of Sharjah, Sharjah 26666, United Arab Emirates

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 9, 1-19

Abstract: Friction stir welding (FSW) has gained increasing prominence in the realm of metal–plastic hybrid joints, yet its long-term sustainability remains a subject of uncertainty. This research investigates the sustainability aspect of FSW, positioning it against conventional techniques like adhesive bonding (AB) and self-piercing riveting (SPR). A comprehensive evaluation framework encompassing environmental, social, economic, and physical factors was employed, through which specified criteria were applied to select pertinent sustainability indicators across all dimensions to ensure a thorough assessment. In this study, two advanced multi-criteria decision-making methods (MCDM) were deployed for data normalization and aggregation. Sensitivity analysis was conducted to examine the robustness of the results. The outcomes yielded a sustainability rating system, facilitating a direct and insightful comparison with traditional methods. Based on the results of this study, SPR outperforms both FSW and AB in terms of overall sustainability with comparative average sustainability scores of 75.3%, 54.2%, and 35.3%, respectively. This study not only sheds light on the current state of FSW sustainability but also provides a valuable benchmark for decision-makers in selecting environmentally conscious methods for metal–plastic hybrid joints.

Keywords: sustainability; MCDM; metal-to-polymer joining; friction stir welding; self-piercing riveting; adhesive bonding (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/9/3664/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/9/3664/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:9:p:3664-:d:1384018

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().