Innovative Research from Örebro University and the 3DTC project : Characterization of additive manufacturing metal – carbon-fibre composite bond by dual-energy computed tomography

Innovative Research from Örebro University and the 3DTC project : Characterization of additive manufacturing metal – carbon-fibre composite bond by dual-energy computed tomography

Using 3DTC funds, Anton Jansson and Lars Pejryd (Örebro University) recently presented their findings at an international conference. The research investigated the joining of dissimilar materials - a topic of high interest for industry. The ability to seamlessly join materials with significant differences in properties would advance the development of efficient designs and concepts within many fields. In this work, bonds between aluminium and carbon-fibre reinforced plastic have been studied. 

The aluminium side of the bonds were fabricated using classical methods (milling) and additive manufacturing. Two types of bonds were fabricated using additive manufacturing, one flat, relying on the rough surface for adhesion in the bond, and the other with surface features designed to hook into the carbon-fibre plies. All the bonds were fabricated using wet layup of carbon-fibre, the idea was that the aluminium parts would bond to the plastic composite in one step. The bonds were characterised using dual-energy computed tomography. 

The method used in this work was non-linear and based around fusing of projections acquired with different energy spectra. The mechanical strength of the bonds was also evaluated, both through tensile tests and four-point bending.

It was found that the bonds including additive manufactured aluminium was stronger than the milled samples in general. In the computed tomography data, it could be seen that the adhesion in those bonds were better, most likely due to the rough surface.

The strongest bonds were those with additive manufacturing surface features. More information at http://flickread.com/edition/html/index.php?pdf=59d4eac815e33#1 or contact Alfred Nobel Science Park.