Joining of carbon fibre reinforced polymer to Al-Si alloy for space applications

The joining of hypereutectic Al-Si alloy heat pipes to CRFP skins has been studied for radiator panel applications. Three different epoxy adhesives (two thermal conductive adhesives and one high-strength structural one) were used and mechanically characterised before and after thermal cycling. Two adhesives gave the most promising results, in terms of mechanical strength (apparent shear ~ 25 MPa for 100 µm thick lap joints). Thermal cycling (10 cycles between −30°C and +90 °C) did not significantly affect the mechanical properties of the joints or the failure propagation mode. The use of the thermal conductive adhesive could also guarantee good thermal conductivity of the designed panel.