Abstract:
Fiber Metal Laminates (FMLs) is a hybrid composite material composed of several layers
of high strength metal bonded with fiber reinforced composites layers for achieving high
strength and light weight material. The aim of the study was to investigate the strength of
FMLs composites based on Aluminium alloy 7075 and unidirectional glass fiber sheets
bonded with 5052 epoxy having three different stacking sequences, prepared by hand
layup method followed by vacuum molding. A series of surface treatments were
performed to increase the surface roughness of Aluminium sheet. The resin matrix was
modified by the incorporation of 1.5 wt. % nano particles i.e., carbon nanotubes and nano
diamonds each. The strength of nano particles based FMLs was compared to that of with
bare epoxy adhesives. Tensile and drop weight impact tests were performed on the flat
test specimen as per ASTM standards to evaluate the ultimate tensile strength, maximum
deformation, and toughness, while the microscopic analysis was conducted to observe the
fracture behavior of FMLs. From the results, it was concluded that as the number of
Aluminium layers increase with respect to glass fiber, the strength, deformation, and
toughness increased. Moreover, inclusion of nanoparticles in resin matrix also showed
significant increase in strength than that of bare epoxy adhesives. The Strength of FML
as a function of metal volume fraction and nano particle inclusions was evaluated.
