Feasibility study of friction stir joining of aluminium with carbon fibre reinforced thermoplastic composite

During the last decades, environmental concerns and limited resources have set focus of research on lightweight, mechanically high-performing structures for the transportation industry, in order to reduce fuel consumptions and CO₂ emissions. Friction Stir Joining (FSJ), as a variant of the Friction Stir Welding (FSW), is an innovative friction-based joining technique for metal-composite hybrid structures. Joining in the plasticized state below the melting temperature of the metal leads to a comparatively small heat-affected zone, so that only minor metallurgical changes occur. Additionally, only a short processing time and no additional weight in form of fasteners is needed. The main objective of this study is to evaluate the feasibility of metal-composite structures via FSJ, intending to enable a macro-mechanical interlocking bonding mechanism. Main focus was given to the integration of an aluminium nub inserted in a carbon fiber-reinforced polyphenylene sulfide (CF-PPS) sheet, to ensure sufficient plasticization of the aluminium part and no degradation in the polymer part. Residual stress arising from the friction stir joining process was also characterised using the Contour method. In this study, aluminium alloy 6082-T6 and CF-PPS composite sheets were used to produce long lap joints. Results have shown that the joints were created at almost constant peak temperature slightly above the melting temperature of the PPS but no physical-chemical changes were detected in the PPS. In addition, the influence of a PPS film as interlayer between the sheets was investigated in order to explore a method for preventing galvanic corrosion. Preliminary results indicate that it is not possible to integrate a metal nub to the CF-PPS without interrupting the PPS film. However, it is possible to create a nub within the PPS film.