Influence of the moisture content on flat-clinch connection of wood materials and aluminium

•Wood materials and aluminium (Al 99.5) were joined by flat-clinching.•A one sided planar connection was created.•The joint strength of the connections was determined by cross tension test.•The moisture content influences the joint strength of hybrid flat-clinch connections.•Optimal pre-conditioning of the wood material increases the joint strength.

The paper describes the joining of composites made of different types of wood-based materials and aluminium. The wood materials were conditioned in a climate chamber or in a chamber furnace to set specific moisture contents. Afterwards, the conditioned wood materials were joined with aluminium (Al 99.5) by means of flat-clinching. After a relaxation period of 48 h under standard climatic conditions the joint strengths at different moisture contents were quantified by cross tension tests. Based on the well-founded experimental studies the understanding of the flat-clinching technology for this kind of material combination was improved.