NUMERICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATIONS ON GFRP AND AA 6061 LAMINATE COMPOSITES FOR DEEP-DRAWING APPLICATIONS

Abstract

Fibre-metal laminates (FMLs) are a multi-layered prominent class of hybrid composites gaining keen attention among researchers due to the combined advantages of the products used for aerospace and lightweight applications. This work involves one such investigation of hybrid sandwich laminate composites of aluminium sheets and a glass-fibre-reinforced thermoplastic (GFRP) core. FRPs can be conjoined with other lightweight materials to enhance the weight-to-strength forming performance and reduce manufacturing costs. However, the thickness reduction of the components for lightweight products makes the FRP-to-metal amalgamation a great challenge. The process of warm embossing is imposed to enhance the quality of single-lap adhesive bonding in FRPs and AA 6061 thin sheets. In this investigation, the formability of a FML made of AA 6061 and GFRP is predicted based on its deformation and wrinkle formation when it is processed during deep drawing. This research paper deals with analytical and experimental results regarding the prediction of deformation cause and effect in fabricated composite laminates with orientation angles of (90°; 0°; 60°; 30°; –45°; 45°). The method of evaluation combines the usage of ANSYS PrepPost with an explicit-dynamics module that bolsters designing, drafting and analysis.