Abstract
Materials composed of a polymer matrix reinforced with carbon/glass fibres providing lightweight and superior mechanical properties are widely used as structural components for automotive and aerospace applications. However, such parts need to be joined with various metal alloys to obtain better mechanical performance in many structural elements. Many studies have reported enhancements in polymer–metal bonding using adhesives, adhesive/rivet combined joints, and different surface treatments. This study investigated the influences of various surface treatments on the adhesion between glass-reinforced poly(phenylene) sulphide (PPS) and aluminium alloy during the injection over-moulding process. Adhesion strength was evaluated via the shear test. Correlations for the shear strength of the polymer–metal with different metal–substrate treatments were studied. Since the strongest bonding was attained in the treatment with the highest roughness, this value, as it determines the level of micromechanical interlocking of connected materials, seems to be a critical factor affecting the adhesion strength. Three-dimensional (3D) topographic images characterized with a 3D optical microscope indicated that there was a meaningful influence exerted by the interface topologies of the aluminium substrates used for the over-moulding process. The results further indicated that increases in a substrate’s surface energy in connection with atmospheric plasma treatments negatively influence the final level of the bonding mechanism.
Highlights
Polymer–metal bi-component structures (PMBSs) are expected to be efficient energysaving parts
There is a broad range of metal–plastic combinations and various possibilities for surface treatments; the present study only focused on evaluating the influence of selected chemical and physical treatments of aluminium inserts, concentrating on the shear bonding strength achieved during injection over-moulding with glass-fibre-reinforced poly(phenylene) sulphide (PPS)
Selected methods were used for the evaluation of the effectiveness of the applied surface treatments: (1) To describe the surface morphologies of the differently treated Al inserts a highresolution scanning electron microscope (SEM) Phenom Pro X (Waltham, MA, USA) with an electron accelerating voltage of 5 kV was used
Summary
Polymer–metal bi-component structures (PMBSs) are expected to be efficient energysaving parts. Usage of adhesives is still challenging due to their low thermal and mechanical characteristics In this context, a newly designed, ultra-high-temperature-resistant epoxy glue has been employed [4,5]. To improve the bonding of hybrid joints, laser structuring is used as an alternative to the mechanical blasting process when joining metal with plastics. In these cases, a pulsed laser is focused on a single spot on the material surface, resulting in extremely high local intensities. There is a broad range of metal–plastic combinations and various possibilities for surface treatments; the present study only focused on evaluating the influence of selected chemical and physical treatments of aluminium inserts, concentrating on the shear bonding strength achieved during injection over-moulding with glass-fibre-reinforced PPS. It is less expensive; it could replace PEEK in applications where flexibility is not a key consideration
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