from the conferences organized by TANGER Ltd.
<div>Hybrid materials are increasingly used in lightweight construction. The combination of metallic materials with fiber-reinforced plastics (FRP) can reduce weight and improve the mechanical properties of a component. FRP are known for their lightweight and corrosion resistance, while metals show high strengths and stiffnesses. In order to combine the advantages of both materials, it is possible to reinforce highly stressed segments of a metallic component with FRP. A novel method for manufacturing such hybrid metal-FRP composite structures using a multidirectional forming process is investigated. Thereby, a glass mat reinforced thermoplastic (GMT), consisting of a polypropylene matrix with 40% glass fiber reinforcement, is compression moulded on specific segments of a metallic component by means of a controlled multidirectional die. For this, finite element (FE) simulations are required to design a forming process close to an industrial application. In order to conduct such a numerical study of the material flow during forming, a precise characterization of the GMT is necessary. Therefore, isothermal compression tests were conducted using a parallel-plate rheometer at different temperatures ranging from 180 °C to 220 °C and varying squeeze rates from 0.05 mm/s to 2 mm/s. The experimental data is used to fit a material model for the FE simulations. To verify the material model for further simulations in the project, the compression process is simulated in ABAQUS using a Coupled Eulerian-Lagrange approach and the results are compared with the experimental data.</div>
Keywords: Composite materials, numerical simulation, multidirectional forming process, glass mat reinforced thermoplastic© This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.