MATERIAL- AND PROCESS CHARACTERIZATION OF FIBRE-METAL-ELASTOMER LAMINATE COMPONENTS WITH HIGH FORMING DEGREES

Abstract

Hybrid material concepts provide a high variability in the resulting part properties, and thus are often applied to satisfy multiple component demands. Fibre-metal laminates (FML) are widely spread in aerospace applications and are being used for decades as they show a high lightweight potential and a good fatigue behaviour. However, a broad conventional use of hybrid laminates in the automotive sector is not existing until today. The high manufacturing costs, caused by the surface pre-treatment of the metal layer, as well as long process cycles and a limited formability of current laminates are not suitable for automotive applications.

This paper presents an approach, which allows the processing of hybrid laminates for high-volume applications and enables high forming degrees of the manufactured parts. As an additional elastomer layer is used to separate the metal from the fibre reinforced layer, carbon fibre reinforced polymers (CFRP) can be used instead of conventional glass fibres, preventing a galvanic corrosion between carbon and the metal. In addition to the manufacturing process itself, the influence of the formability will be discussed with regards to the distribution of the laminate layers, determining achievable forming degrees of the manufactured fibre-metal-elastomer laminate (FMEL) specimen. The laminate behaviour during the forming of the uncured laminate will be described by analysing micro sections. Furthermore, the results of an experimental modal analysis will be presented in order to determine the damping properties of the investigated hybrid laminates.