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The impact response of aluminum foam sandwich structures based on a glass fiber‐reinforced polypropylene fiber‐metal laminate
Author(s) -
Kiratisaevee H.,
Cantwell W. J.
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
polymer composites
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.577
H-Index - 82
eISSN - 1548-0569
pISSN - 0272-8397
DOI - 10.1002/pc.20043
Subject(s) - materials science , composite material , composite number , glass fiber , polypropylene , aluminium , metal foam , sandwich structured composite , shear (geology) , fiber , adhesive , ultimate tensile strength , aluminium foam sandwich , layer (electronics)
The fracture properties and impact response of a series of aluminum foam sandwich structures with the glass fiber–reinforced polypropylene‐based fiber‐metal laminate (FML) skins have been studied. Initially, the manufacturing process for producing the FML skins was optimized to obtain a strong bond between the composite plies and the aluminum layers. The degree of adhesion between the composite plies and the aluminum was characterized by conducting single cantilever beam tests. Here, it was found that the composites could be successfully bonded to the aluminum using a simple short stamping procedure. A detailed examination of the fracture surfaces indicated that crack propagation occurred within the composite ply in the fiber‐metal laminates and along the composite‐aluminum foam interface in the sandwich structures. The low velocity impact response of the FMLs and the sandwich structures was investigated using an instrumented drop‐weight impact tower and a laser‐Doppler velocimeter. The energy absorption characteristics of the sandwich structures were investigated along with the failure processes. Finally, a series of tensile tests on the damaged FMLs and thermoplastic sandwich structures showed that both systems offer promising residual load‐bearing properties. Here, shear failure in the aluminum foam was observed in the sandwich structures, indicative of a strong bond between the FML skins and the aluminum core. Polym. Compos. 25:499–509, 2004. © 2004 Society of Plastics Engineers.