Properties and failure behavior of hybrid wire mesh/carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastic composites under quasi-static tensile load

Unlike thermoset fiber reinforced plastics (FRPs), thermoplastic FRPs provide excellent workability under elevated forming temperatures. Thus, complex shaped components made of thermoplastic FRPs become increasingly important for advanced lightweight applications, such as multi-material automotive bodies in white. To enable transition bonding between metals and FRPs, connective elements like rivets are generally used. However, hole drilling prior to riveting leads to weakening of the fiber structure. Open metallic structures like perforated plates, grid-like sheets or wire meshes enable reinforcement and stabilization of the fiber structure, even if inserts are integrated into the composite. Inlaid between two thermoplastic FRP layers during the forming operation, the open metallic structure is penetrated by the molten thermoplastic polymer, and consequently, the metallic structure is completely embedded into the polymer matrix.Experimental investigations on carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastics (CFRP) and wire mesh of steel show that these advanced composite sheets can be successfully realized by forming at elevated temperatures. Starting with a description of the manufacturing process and the used experimental procedure, this article is focused on the analysis of the relationships between the tensile test results and the failure pattern based on metallographic sections. It can be concluded that the manufacturing process itself has a considerable impact on the mechanical characteristics of the composites. On the other hand, this procedure allows selective modulation of the material behavior.