TY - JOUR
T1 - Evaluation of grit-blasting as a pre-treatment for carbon-fibre thermoplastic composite to aluminium bonded joints tested at static and dynamic loading rates
AU - Ramaswamy, Karthik
AU - O'Higgins, Ronan M.
AU - Kadiyala, Ajay Kumar
AU - McCarthy, Michael A.
AU - McCarthy, Conor T.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020
PY - 2020/3/15
Y1 - 2020/3/15
N2 - Light-weighting of transportation structures necessitates multi-material design employing composites and aluminium, with thermoplastic composites being of increasing interest to the industry. Adhesive bonding is a viable solution for joining dissimilar materials, but joint performance can be considerably affected by surface preparation. In this paper, alumina grit-blasting is investigated as a surface preparation technique for thermoplastic-matrix composites to be bonded to aluminium alloys. Grit-blasting is performed on composite adherends for varying durations, and the resulting chemical and morphological modifications are analysed using goniometry, profilometry, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Adhesively-bonded single-lap joints are tested at quasi-static and dynamic (0.5 m/s) loading rates, and fractography analysis is performed at macro and micro scales. It is found that high lap shear strength and work-to-failure can be achieved through optimisation of the grit-blasting parameters. The optimised process produces a composite surface with plasticised matrix, minimal fibre exposure, and favourable surface chemistry for adhesive bonding. Grit-blasting can thus be a simple, yet effective surface preparation technique for composites to be bonded to aluminium.
AB - Light-weighting of transportation structures necessitates multi-material design employing composites and aluminium, with thermoplastic composites being of increasing interest to the industry. Adhesive bonding is a viable solution for joining dissimilar materials, but joint performance can be considerably affected by surface preparation. In this paper, alumina grit-blasting is investigated as a surface preparation technique for thermoplastic-matrix composites to be bonded to aluminium alloys. Grit-blasting is performed on composite adherends for varying durations, and the resulting chemical and morphological modifications are analysed using goniometry, profilometry, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Adhesively-bonded single-lap joints are tested at quasi-static and dynamic (0.5 m/s) loading rates, and fractography analysis is performed at macro and micro scales. It is found that high lap shear strength and work-to-failure can be achieved through optimisation of the grit-blasting parameters. The optimised process produces a composite surface with plasticised matrix, minimal fibre exposure, and favourable surface chemistry for adhesive bonding. Grit-blasting can thus be a simple, yet effective surface preparation technique for composites to be bonded to aluminium.
KW - Adhesion
KW - Joints/joining
KW - Metal to thermoplastic composite bonding
KW - Surface treatment
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85078568579&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.compositesb.2020.107765
DO - 10.1016/j.compositesb.2020.107765
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85078568579
SN - 1359-8368
VL - 185
JO - Composites Part B: Engineering
JF - Composites Part B: Engineering
M1 - 107765
ER -