Surface Characterization of Carbon Fiber Polymer Composites and Aluminum Alloys After Laser Interference Structuring

Adrian S. Sabau, Clayton M. Greer, Jian Chen, Charles D. Warren, Claus Daniel

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

10 Scopus citations

Abstract

The increasing use of carbon fiber-reinforced polymer matrix composites (CFPC) and aluminum alloys as lightweight materials in the automotive and aerospace industries demands enhanced surface preparation and control of surface morphology prior to joining. In this study, surfaces of both composite and aluminum were prepared for joining using an Nd:YAG laser in a two-beam interference setup, enabling the (1) structuring of the AL 5182 surface, (2) removal of the resin layer on top of carbon fibers, and (3) structuring of the carbon fibers. CFPC specimens of T700S carbon fiber, Prepreg—T83 epoxy, 5 ply thick, 0°/90° plaques were used. The effects of laser fluence, scanning speed, and number of shots-per-spot were investigated on the removal rate of the resin without an excessive damage of the fibers. Optical micrographs, 3D imaging, and scanning electron microscope imaging were used to study the effect of the laser processing on the surface morphology. It was found that an effective resin ablation and a low density of broken fibers for CFPC specimens was attained using laser fluences of 1–2 J/cm2 and number of 2–4 pulses per spot. A relatively large area of periodic line structures due to energy interference were formed on the aluminum surface at laser fluences of 12 J/cm2 and number of 4–6 pulses per spot.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1882-1889
Number of pages8
JournalJOM
Volume68
Issue number7
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 1 2016

Funding

This research was conducted at UT-Battelle, LLC, under Contract No. DE-AC05-00OR22725 with the U.S. Department of Energy for the project “Laser-Assisted Joining Process for Aluminum and Carbon Fiber Components” and has been funded by the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Vehicle Technologies Office, Lightweight Materials Program. The authors would like to thank Timothy Skszek of Magna International, Troy, MI for providing the AL 5182 specimens.

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