The mechanical properties improvement of thermoplastics-based fiber metal laminates

This study investigated the possibility of increasing the fiber metal laminates mechanical properties by improving the impregnation quality due to the addition of a different number of layers of polymer film on the prepreg-metal interface. Specimens were made based on two thermoplastic polymers (polyamide-6 and polypropylene), glass fibers (E-glass), and aluminum alloy (AlMg6) by hot pressing. The theoretical calculation was performed for the tensile strength according to the rule of mixtures. The dependences of tensile strength, impact strength, and pattern failure modes on the fiber metal laminates structure and polymer type were produced. Options for improving metal-polymer adhesion up to 2.7 times by different methods of aluminum surface modification were shown.