Thermoplastic fibre metal laminates: Stiffness properties and forming behaviour by means of deep drawing

Abstract

Hybrid materials provide a high potential for lighter structures and an improved crash performance. The investigated hybrid sandwich laminate consists of steel cover sheets and a carbon fibre-reinforced thermoplastic core. The first part of this investigation is focusing on an analytical prediction as well as on a comparison of numerical and experimental results for the evaluation of the laminate properties to get a general understanding for the material. Within the second part the forming behaviour of this material is investigated experimentally, analytically and numerically by means of cup deep drawing. These results indicate that cup deep drawing of thermoplastic fibre metal laminates is possible but limited. The limits in terms of achievable drawing depths are found to be defined by cracking and wrinkling of the cover sheets as well as fibre failure in the composite material.