Fiber Metal Laminates Based on Natural/Synthesis Fiber Composite for Vehicles Industry: an Experimental Comparative Study

Fiber metal laminates (FMLs) are made by sandwiching a fiber-reinforced composite between thin layers of metals. FMLs are the most modern materials utilized in automotive and aerospace manufacture because of their superior mechanical behavior when compared to conventional metallic alloys. In the current work, the effect of hybridization between jute-reinforced composites and other fabrics on the mechanical properties of the designed FMLs was experimentally assessed under various tests, including tension, flexural, in-plane shear, interlaminar shear, and bearing tests. Aluminum alloy 1050 (AA 1050) was used as a metal component in the designed FMLs, while the composite components are jute (J), glass (G), aramid (A), carbon (C), and basalt (B) fabrics. To ensure good adhesion between Al-sheets and composite laminates, Al-sheets underwent both mechanical and chemical treatments. The intended FMLs were prepared via hand lay-up and compression casting techniques. The designed stacking sequences were 8 J, 2G/4J/2G, 2A/4J/2A, 2C/4J/2C, and 2B/4J/2B. According to the experimental results compared with the 8 J specimen, the 2G/4J/2G specimen presents maximum flexural strength, flexural modulus, and interlaminar shear strength with an improvement percent of 51.51, 212.33, and 15.72%, respectively. On top of that, the 2A/4J/2A specimen introduces maximum tensile failure strain and tensile toughness modulus with an enhancement percent of, respectively, 21.56 and 116.56%, while the 2C/4J/2C specimen introduces extreme tensile strength, tensile modulus, flexural strain, in-plane shear strength, and bearing strength with an upgrading percent of 181.91, 111.86, 21.24, 26.38, and 60.94%, respectively.