Hybrid joining of aluminum alloys and thermoplastic CFR‐PA12 manufactured by IR‐irradiation: Influence of pretreatment and aging on the mechanical properties

Abstract

In this work, a thermal direct joining process was applied to obtain hybrid composites of thermoplastic carbon fiber compounds and selected aluminum alloys. With the successful proof-of-concept, the aging behavior under hydrothermal and corrosive conditions is also investigated. Before joining, various linear surface topographies with a characteristic aspect ratio ranging from 0.1 to 2.0 were generated on the aluminum using a short-pulsed nearinfrared (NIR) laser source. By using optimized NIR laser parameters, the achieved shear strength under tensile load can reach the maximum value corresponding to the interlaminar shear strength of the used carbon fiberreinforced thermoplastic polymer. In two aging regimes under hydrothermal and corrosive conditions, a rapid and sharp decrease in mechanical strength over time was observed exclusively under corrosive conditions.