Residual Stresses in Intrinsic UD-CFRP-Steel-Laminates - Experimental Determination, Identification of Sources, Effects and Modification Approaches

Abstract

This paper focuses on the reduction of process-related thermal residual stress in fiber metal laminates and its impact on the mechanical properties. Different modifications during fabrication of co-cure bonded steel/carbon epoxy composite hybrid structures were investigated. Specific examinations are conducted on UD-CFRP-Steel specimens, modifying temperature, pressure or using a thermal expansion clamp during manufacturing. The impact of these parameters is then measured on the deflection of asymmetrical specimens or due yield-strength measurements of symmetrical specimens. The tensile strength is recorded to investigate the effect of thermal residual stress on the mechanical properties. Impact tests are performed to determine the influence on resulting damage areas at specific impact energies. The experiments revealed that the investigated modifications during processing of UD-CFRP-Steel specimens can significantly lower the thermal residual stress and thereby improve the tensile strength.