Experimental Research on the Thermal-Consolidation Compound Forming of Thermosetting Fiber Metal Laminates Design for Complex Structures with Variable Curvature

Abstract

The glass fiber-reinforced metal laminates (GLARE) cannot be used to form complex laminate structures in the aerospace industry, because there is substantial variation in the plasticity of the heterogeneous materials. Hence, a compound process for composite materials based on the thermoforming technology for aluminum alloy and fiber-reinforced metal laminates (FMLs)-forming technology was proposed; it contains solution heat treatment, thermoforming, quick cold die quenching, artificial aging integrated process (HFQ), and the thermal consolidation of fiber-reinforced metal laminates, and it is named the HFQ-FMLs forming process. In order to test and judge the effect of the heat treatment on the properties of the materials obtained by the new technology, the pure metal sheet and the three kinds of HFQ-FMLs composite laminates fabricated with the different layup method were assessed with the Vickers hardness test and the Charpy impact test at the same time, and they were labeled #1, #2, #3, #4, respectively. In the Charpy impact test, in order to obtain accurate data, the shape and fixing position of the specimen was optimized so that the gap direction was parallel to the loading direction. After the heat treatment, the properties of the aluminum alloy were improved, the hardness will affect the energy absorption of the laminates, and the relationship between the thickness, hardness and impact properties will be analyzed. The hardness test results are 39.9 HV, 37.5 HV, 37.4 HV, 37.1 HV which indicates the pure metal sheet had the greatest hardness, and the greater the thickness of fiber layer, the lower was the hardness of the HFQ-FMLs composite laminate. The impact resistance of the HFQ-FMLs composite laminates was about two times of the pure metal sheet for the same thickness, and the values are 2.3 J, 4.8 J, 4.8 J, 4.8 J, respectively. In addition, the method of laying the fiber layer had no effect on the impact resistance of the composite laminates. For the novel composite laminates subjected to different cutting processes, the scanning electron microscope (SEM) results for the incision morphology suggest that the water cutting process ensures the structural integrity of the composite laminates after the edges’ and holes’ cutting procedures, and the performance maintains continuity.