Experimental investigation on impact performances of GLARE laminates

An experimental investigation was carried out on the damage resistance to a concen- trated quasi-static indentation force and low-velocity impact of four kinds of glass-reinforced aluminum laminates （GLARE for short）. Compared with the experimental results of the CFRP （Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastics） laminates, the performance of GLARE was determined. By means of concentrated quasi-static indentation force test, typical force displacement response, the maximum contact force and dent depth were received, Through drop-weight low-velocity impact tests, impact force histories, indentation depths （through a new method） and dissipated energy were obtained. The test results show that the force-displacement response of GLARE 4 laminates under the concentrated quasi-static indentation force has an obvious fiat roof and the failure is instantaneous, which are different from CFRP laminates. The indention will be visible once the impact happens. C-scan results find that there is no delamination besides the impact area after both the concentrated quasi-static indentation and low-velocity impact. The dissipated energy approximately equals the impact energy.

Prediction model for determining the optimum operational parameters in laser forming of fiber-reinforced composites

Composite materials are widely employed in various industries,such as aerospace,automobile,and sports equipment,owing to their lightweight and strong structure in comparison with conventional materials.I aser material processing is a rapid technique for performing the various processes on composite materials.In particular,laser forming is a flexible and reliable approach for shaping fiber-metal laminates(FML.s),which are widely used in the aerospace industry due to several advantages,such as high strength and light weight.In this study,a prediction model was developed for determining the optimal laser parameters(power and speed)when forming FML composites.Artificial neural networks(ANNs)were applied to estimate the process outputs(temperature and bending angle)as a result of the modeling process.For this purpose,several ANN models were developed using various strategies.Finally,the achieved results demonstrated the advantage of the models for predicting the optimal operational parameters.

Degradation Behavior of Epoxy Resins in Fibre Metal Laminates Under Thermal Conditions

GLARE （glass fibre/epoxy reinforced aluminum laminate） is a member of the fiber metal laminate （FML） family, and is built up of alternating metal and fiber layers. About 500 m2 GLARE is employed in each Airbus A380 because of the superior mechanical properties over the monolithic Muminum alloys, such as weight reduction, improved damage tolerance and higher ultimate tensile strength. Many tons of new GLARE scraps have been accumulated during the Airbus A380 manufacturing. Moreover, with the increasing plane orders of Airbus A380, more and more end-of-life （EOL） GLARE scrap will be generated after retire of planes within forty years. Thermal processing is a potential method for the material recycling and re-use from GLARE with the aim of environmental protection and economic benefits. The current study indicatdes that thermal delamination is a crucial pre-treatment step for the GLARE recycling. The decomposition behavior of the epoxy resins at elevated temperatures was investigated by using the simultaneous thermal analysis, thermogravimetry analysis （TGA） and differential scanning calorimetry （DSC）. Based on the thermal analysis results, GLARE thermal delamination experiments at refined temperatures were carried out to optimize the treatment temperature and holding time.