What is rheological weldability?

Rheological weldability (RW) of thermoplastics considers the materials flow characteristics in determining the weldability of the given material.[1] The process of welding thermal plastics requires three general steps, first is surface preparation. The second step is the application of heat and pressure to create intimate contact between the components being joined and initiate inter-molecular diffusion across the joint and the third step is cooling.[2] RW can be used to determine the effectiveness of the second step of the process for given materials.

Rheological weldability describes the effectiveness of applying heat and pressure to join two materials.