Clinching (Al/CFRP)
Process
Process
- (a) A TP-CFRP sheet was heated to 100 °C by a CORNING PC-420D hot plate and then stacked on a AA5052-H32 sheet inside a fixture immediately.
- (b) The two sheets were clamped tightly by a holder and then pressed into a die by a punch. The two sheets were deformed plastically as two button structures.
- (c) The two button structures were continuously squeezed into the groove and a strong mechanical interlock was made between them.
- (d) The punch was drawn out and then an Al/CFRP dissimilar clinch joint was made. Note that the whole process including the installation and clinching should be done within 10 s.
Materials
Materials
AA5052-H32 sheets with a thickness of 1.6 mm and TP-CFRP sheets with a thickness of 1.6 mm were used to make joints. The TP-CFRP sheets composed of sixteen prepreg layers with cross lay-up [0°/90°/90°/0°/0°/90°/90°/0°/0°/90°/90°/0°/0°/90°/90°/0°] were supplied by TOPKEY Inc.
Cross-sectional micrograph of an Al/CFRP clinch joint and the top view and back view of an Al/CFRP clinch joint.