Experimental investigation of the tensile, compression and three point bending behaviors of some fiber metal laminants

In this thesis, E-glass and carbon fiber reinforced epoxy matrix composites were produced and bonded with 2 mm thick 304 stainless steel and 5754 H-111 aluminum sheets to form fiber metal laminates. The hand lay-up method was used to produce the composites. After the resin was applied to the fiber fabrics by hand lay-up method, it was waited for one hour so that the resin was thoroughly dispersed on the fabrics and the micro-air bubbles were removed from it. Afterwards, resin-impregnated fabrics of 400x400 mm dimensions were packaged with heat-resistant oiled coated paper and cured in a hot press at 130°C for two hours. At the end of the two-hour period, the plates were not removed immediately, and the press was waited to cool down to 60°C in order to prevent the composite plates from colliding due to sudden cooling, and the press jaws were opened when the jaws of the press were reduced to the desired temperature. Then, the pieces cut from metal and composite plates in dimensions of 100x100 mm were bonded to each other with Weicon RK 7100 two-component adhesive and fiber metal laminates were produced. Tensile, compression, and three-point bending tests were performed on these test specimens. The results are given in graphs. In addition, samples were taken from the composite sheets and their internal structures were examined with an optical microscope. Considering the strength values of fiber metal laminates in different configurations from this thesis study, it is considered to be suitable for related structural engineering applications.