Robust Heterojunctions of Metallic Alloy and Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Composite Induced by Laser Processing.

Haipeng Wang,Yingchun Guan,Peng Yan

doi:10.3390/ma14237469

Haipeng Wang, Yingchun Guan + Show 1 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14237469

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Abstract

The development of heterojunctions with a strong bonding interface between metals and non-metals has attracted much attention owing to their great potential for use in lightweight structures. Laser joining technology, which emerged as a fast and reliable method, has proven its feasibility and unique advantages in joining metal to polymer matrix composites. Herein, an optimized laser joining configuration has been employed to realize high-quality joining of titanium alloy and carbon fiber-reinforced composite. Cross-sectional microstructures of laser-produced joints reveal that micro-bubbles near the interface have been effectively suppressed and eliminated due to the continual clamping pressure applied to the joined area during the joining process. Tensile tests suggest that the joint strength increases with structure density on a titanium alloy surface, and the greatest fracture strength of joints reaches more than 60 MPa even after experiencing a high–low temperature alternating aging test. For higher structure density (>95%), the joints fail by the fracture of parent plastics near the joined area due to the tensile-loading-induced peel stress at the edges of the overlap region. Otherwise, the joints fail by interfacial shear fracture with breakage when the structure density is lower than 91.5%. The obtained high-performance heterojunctions show great potential in the aerospace and automotive fields.

Highlights

IntroductionThe manufacture of lightweight materials has always been one of the goals pursued in advanced manufacturing industries such as automotive engineering and aerospace
The manufacture of lightweight materials has always been one of the goals pursued in advanced manufacturing industries such as automotive engineering and aerospace.Towards this goal, various light materials including carbon fiber- and glass fiber-reinforced thermoplastics (CFRTP/GFRTP) have been increasingly utilized to replace metals due to their low density, high specific strength and good chemical resistance [1,2,3,4]
In practical applications of CFRTP/GFRTP, it is inevitable to confront the issue of achieving highstrength heterojunctions between metals and thermoplastic composites

Summary

Introduction

The manufacture of lightweight materials has always been one of the goals pursued in advanced manufacturing industries such as automotive engineering and aerospace Towards this goal, various light materials including carbon fiber- and glass fiber-reinforced thermoplastics (CFRTP/GFRTP) have been increasingly utilized to replace metals due to their low density, high specific strength and good chemical resistance [1,2,3,4]. In practical applications of CFRTP/GFRTP, it is inevitable to confront the issue of achieving highstrength heterojunctions between metals and thermoplastic composites In view of such demand, various strategies for joining metals and thermoplastics have been developed in past decades such as adhesive bonding [5,6], mechanical fastening [7,8], and thermal welding [9,10,11]. The LAJ process has several advantages: no contact is required; it has high flexibility and enables precise processing; and it can be flexibly adjusted (e.g., laser parameters, LAJ configuration) to meet the joining requirements between dissimilar specimens with specific characteristics (e.g., material, dimension, shape)

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