A Mixed Numerical-Experimental Method to Characterize Metal-Polymer Interfaces for Crash Applications

Jonas Richter,Heinz Palkowski,Moritz Kuhtz,Andreas Hornig,Maik Gude,Mohamed Harhash

doi:10.3390/met11050818

Jonas Richter, Heinz Palkowski + Show 4 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/met11050818

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Abstract

Metallic (M) and polymer (P) materials as layered hybrid metal-polymer-metal (MPM) sandwiches offer a wide range of applications by combining the advantages of both material classes. The interfaces between the materials have a considerable impact on the resulting mechanical properties of the composite and its structural performance. Besides the fact that the experimental methods to determine the properties of the single constituents are well established, the characterization of interface failure behavior between dissimilar materials is very challenging. In this study, a mixed numerical–experimental approach for the determination of the mode I energy release rate is investigated. Using the example of an interface between a steel (St) and a thermoplastic polyolefin (PP/PE), the process of specimen development, experimental parameter determination, and numerical calibration is presented. A modified design of the Double Cantilever Beam (DCB) is utilized to characterize the interlaminar properties and a tailored experimental setup is presented. For this, an inverse calibration method is used by employing numerical studies using cohesive elements and the explicit solver of LS-DYNA based on the force-displacement and crack propagation results.

Highlights

Published: 18 May 2021In recent decades, the application of hybrid structures such as metal-polymer-metal sandwiches has strongly increased, as the combination of different materials can combine the advantages of each individual material and offers possibilities for new application fields with respect to the lightweight design
Metal-polymer combinations without fiber-reinforcements are used in mainly sandwich layup configurations, such as BONDAL® and ALUCOBOND®
In [7], it was found by comparison between experimental and numerical studies, that the energy absorption of hybrid MPM structures under axial crushing conditions is governed by the plastic deformation of the sandwich rather than their delamination failure behavior

Summary

Introduction

The application of hybrid structures such as metal-polymer-metal sandwiches has strongly increased, as the combination of different materials can combine the advantages of each individual material and offers possibilities for new application fields with respect to the lightweight design. Metal-polymer combinations without fiber-reinforcements are used in mainly sandwich layup configurations, such as BONDAL® (steel polymer laminate, [3]) and ALUCOBOND® (aluminum polymer laminate, [4]). They show an increased bending stiffness resulting in higher energy absorption capacity [5,6]. In [7], it was found by comparison between experimental and numerical studies, that the energy absorption of hybrid MPM structures under axial crushing conditions is governed by the plastic deformation of the sandwich rather than their delamination failure behavior.

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