Friction stir lap joining of automotive aluminium alloy and carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic

Abstract

Multi-material combination such as aluminium alloys and carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics (CFRP) are increasingly used in the aircraft and automobile industries to enhance strength-to-weight ratio of the respective parts and components. Various processes such as adhesive bonding, mechanical fasteners and laser beam joining were employed to join metal alloy and CFRP sheets. However, long processing time of adhesive bonding, extra weight induced by mechanical fasteners and high operating cost of the laser is major limitations of these processes. Therefore, friction stir welding is an alternative choice to overcome those limitations in joining of CFRP and aluminium alloys. In the present work, an attempt is undertaken to join AA5052 alloy and polyamide 66 CFRP sheets by friction stir lap joining technique using pinned and pin-less tools. The joint qualities are investigated extensively at different joining conditions using two different types of tools and surface ground aluminium sheets. The results show that pin-less tool and surface ground aluminium alloy can provide the suitable joint with maximum joint strength around 8 MPa.