Friction stir seam- and spot-welded aluminium honeycombs: enhanced structural integrity eliminating adhesive bonding challenges

Abstract

Aluminium honeycombs serve as a primary core material for energy absorption in various transportation and structural applications, with particular emphasis on their superior strength in the out-of-plane direction. However, conventional fabrication methods rely on adhesive bonding of aluminium strips, revealing poor bond strength under collapse stress. Premature structural failure arises from adhesive failure and subsequent debonding of cell walls, occurring before the aluminium strips fail. Addressing this, an innovative approach utilizing friction stir seam, and spot welding has been introduced to overcome adhesive bonding limitations. Welded joints exhibit a remarkable tenfold increase in strength compared to adhesive bonds. Notably, welded honeycombs demonstrate 32-37% higher crushing strength and an 80-84% increase in specific energy absorption capacity over adhesive-bonded variants. Collapse mechanisms involve pure buckling in seam-welded honeycombs without weld region failure, while spot-welded honeycombs display a combination of bending-shear and spot tearing, particularly evident with wider weld spacing. Obtaining longitudinal loading on seam-welded honeycomb walls is advantageous because of its 57% higher normalized maximum load capacity compared to the shear-tensile strength obtained for spot-welded walls. This study marks a significant advancement in the existing manufacturing route for honeycombs in achieving superior crushing performance.