Interlaminar shear strength (ILSS) characterization of fiber metal laminates (FMLs) manufactured through VARTM process

Abstract

The aircraft industry is always seeking materials with excellent mechanical properties and good strength to weight ratio. Fiber metal laminates (FMLs) are the emerging class of hybrid composite materials consisting of fiber-reinforced polymers (FRP) plies and metal sheets. Aircraft parts are subjected to different types of mechanical loading during operation. Combining the properties of FRPs and metals provides excellent resistance to impact as well as improves the fatigue performance of the aircraft. In this study, aluminum 7075-T6 sheets were used to fabricate FMLs with varying fiber reinforcements. These sheets were treated with different surface and chemical treatment processes. The short beam shear test is utilized in this work that gives practical information on interlaminar shear strength (ILSS) and it can also be employed in real design applications. The results indicated that the ILSS of carbon fiber reinforced aluminum laminates (CARALL) was higher than glass-reinforced aluminum laminates (GLARE) and aramid-reinforced aluminum laminates (ARALL) at all displacement rates. The reason for the higher ILSS of CARALL is due to the stifness of carbon fiber and the strong adhesion of carbon with aluminum metal. However, ILSS for all three types of FMLs did not change significantly which shows that it is independent of displacement rates.

Keywords

• ARALL
• CARALL
• FML
• GLARE
• ILSS