Characterisation and performance optimisation of Fiber Metal Laminates with thermoplastic matrix composite for aerospace applications

The aim of this research is to improve the performance of thermoplastic fibre metal laminates (FML) for aerospace applications. For this purpose, the work was divided into two parts. The first part studied the composite substrate in depth, considering the crystallization process of the matrix and how this is affected by the presence of the fibres. Furthermore, the crystallization process was studied to assess how it affected the mechanical properties of the material. From the experimental results, a numerical model was developed in Abaqus to predict the crystallinity value of the matrix.The results of this first part of the thesis, accurately showed that the presence of the carbon fibres negatively affects the kinetics of the crystallization process, slowing it down. The results demonstrated that carbon fibres act as antinucleating agent.In addition, the kinetics curves were used in the Abaqus model to predict the performance of the material as the crystallinity value changes.The second part of the thesis focused on the interface between the composite and the metal substrates. The objective was to use different chemical and electrochemical treatments to modify the morphology and improve the mechanical strength of the FMLs. Two metal types (aluminium and titanium alloy) were evaluated to gain a greater understanding of materials for aerospace applications.The results of this second part showed that electrochemical treatments, for both metal alloys, generate a strong increase in mechanical performance of the FMLs, a sign of the effectiveness of the treatments.