Holger Seidlitz

New Joining Technology for Optimized Metal/Composite Assemblies

The development of a new joining technology, which is used to manufacture high strength hybrid constructions with thermoplastic composites (FRP) and metals, is introduced. Similar to natural regulation effects at trees, fibers around the FRP joint become aligned along the lines of force and will not be destroyed by the joining process. This is achieved by the local utilization of the specific plastic flow properties of the FRT and metal component. Compared with usual joining methods—such as flow drill screws, blind and self-piercing rivets—noticeably higher tensile properties can be realized through the novel process management. The load-bearing capability increasing effect could be proved on hybrid joints with hot-dip galvanized steel HX420LAD and orthotropic glass—as well as carbon—fiber reinforced plastics. The results, which were determined in tensile-shear and cross-shear tests according to DIN EN ISO 14273 and DIN EN ISO 14272, are compared with holding loads of established joining techniques with similar joining point diameter and material combinations.

High load-bearing multi-material-joints of metal sheets and composites by incremental in-situ forming processes

Thermo-mechanically flow-formed joints (FDJ) are an appropriate joining technology to realize high load-bearing multi-material-joints between fiber reinforced thermoplastics and sheet metals, without additional joining components. As in the automotive industry new vehicle and lightweight designs with one-sided accessibility joints are required, the technology which so far requires a two-sided accessibility of the joint, is examined for the ability to be performed with one-sided accessibility. The main part of the paper are therefore experimental studies on the one-sided manufacturing of FDJ-joints without an additional forming tool and their examination with head pull test and tension shear test according to DIN EN ISO 14272 and DIN EN ISO 14273. In this context, a tool and an experimental setup were designed to provide a corresponding joint production of a material combination of continuous glass fiber reinforced polypropylene (Plytron) and an aluminum alloy (EN AW-6082 T6). In the experiment, the novel ...

Layup Configuration Effect on Notch Residual Strength in Composite Laminates

The current trend shows an increasing demand for composites due to their high stiffness to weight ratio and the recent progress in manufacturing and cost reduction of composites. To combine high strength and stiffness in a cost-effective way, composites are often joined with steel or aluminum. However, joining of thermoset composite materials is challenging because circular holes are often used to join them with their metal counterparts. These design based circular holes induce high stress concentration around the hole. The purpose of this paper is to focus on layup configuration and its impact on notch stress distribution. To ensure high quality and uniformity, the holes were machined by a 5 kW continuous wave (cw) CO2 laser. The stress distribution was evaluated and compared by using finite element analysis and Lekhnitskii’s equations. For further understanding, the notch strength of the laminates was compared and strain distributions were analyzed using the digital image correlation technique.

Comparison of Manufacturing of Lightweight Corrugated Sheet Sandwiches by Hydroforming and Incremental Sheet Forming

Sandwich materials made from corrugated sheet metal provide excellent mechanical properties for lightweight design without using filler material. The increased mechanical properties of these sandwich materials are achieved by the 3-D geometry of the corrugated sheet and the hardening due to pre-forming. In the present study, manufacturing of corrugated sheet metal consisting of hexagonal bulge patterns through hydroforming and incremental forming is analyzed. Double layered corrugated sheet metal sandwiches with hexagonal patterns of free-form bulge geometries are investigated through finite element analysis for the maximum increase in stiffness over the normal flat sheets. The analysis shows that a bending stiffness increase of up to 13 times over flat sheet of the same mass is attainable by corrugated sandwiches. Further, it is proved for these types of corrugation sandwiches that stiffness increases by increasing the height of the corrugation bulge but that hydroforming poses restrictions with respect ...