A cold atmospheric pressure plasma source was investigated as an alternative pre-treatment for carbon fibre reinforced epoxy substrates prior to bonding. For reference, common surface pre-treatments were also investigated (peel ply, manual abrasion, and grit blasting). In the aerospace industry, the peel ply, is usually added to one side of the composite surface during manufacture and peeled off prior to bonding. Peel ply can be used independently or in combination with other techniques. The strength of the bonded joints of the different pre-treatments was assessed through tensile lap shear tests. It was found that combining peel ply with plasma increased the joint strength by 10% whereas manual abrasion or grit blasting after peel ply improved the strength of the joints by 15% and 20% respectively. The effect of pre-treating the composite substrate side without peel ply (bag side) was also investigated. The strength of the joints produced without any pre-treatment was increased by 99% for manual abrasion, 134% for grit blasting and by 146% for plasma. Comparing both surfaces of the composite substrates, it was found that using peel ply improved the performance of the joints by 91%. In order to understand better the effects of the different pre-treatments, surface characterisation of the substrates (surface roughness, surface free energy, and analysis of chemical changes) was also conducted. The effect of roughness did little to affect the strength values (for both surfaces of the composite). The adhesive used in this research was very good at wetting the surface, regardless of the roughness. However, when the adhesive was able to wet the surface, the relationship between bond strength and surface free energy was unclear. Plasma was shown to increase levels of oxygen at the surface and reduce/eliminate the concentration of fluorine at the surface on the bag side of the composite.

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were dispersed into polyvinyl acetate (PVAc ) adhesive cured by radio frequency (RF) to investigate their loading effects on PVAc adhesive curing time and lap shear bond strength performance. Main factors are CNT loading (0.08, 0.25 and 0.41%), RF curing time (15, 30, 45, 60 seconds), and clamping pressure (100, 160, and 240 psi). Experimental results indicated that CNT loading had significant effects on PVAc curing time and lap shear bond strength. Specifically, single lap shear joints bonded with 0.41% CNT loading adhesive had significantly higher lap shear bond strengths than one with PVAc only (0% CNT loading). The curing time of PVAc dispersed with a 41% CNT loading (15 seconds) was 30 seconds shorter than the one with a 0% CNT loading (45 seconds).

Fiber-metal laminates (FML) are the advanced materials that are developed to improve the high performance of lightweight structures that are rapidly becoming a superior substitute for metal structures. The reasons behind their emerging usage are the mechanical properties without a compromise in weight other than the traditional metals. The bond remains a concern. This thesis reviews the effect of pre-treatments, say heat, P2 etch and laser treatments on the substrate which modifies the surface composition/roughness to impact the bond strength. The constituents that make up the FMLs in our present study are the Aluminum 2024 alloy as the substrate and the carbon fiber prepregs are the fibers. These composite samples are manufactured in a compression molding process after each pre-treatment and are then subjected to different tests to investigate its properties in tension, compression, flexural and lap shear strength. The results indicate that heat treatment adversely affects properties of the metal and the joint while laser treatments provide the best bond and joint strength.

Submitted by Daniele Amaral (daniee_ni@hotmail.com) on 2017-10-09T20:25:42Z No. of bitstreams: 1 DissSBML.pdf: 11036305 bytes, checksum: bfd6a7dc18c9f75ffae64cce4523adf4 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Ronildo Prado (bco.producao.intelectual@gmail.com) on 2018-01-25T12:34:11Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 DissSBML.pdf: 11036305 bytes, checksum: bfd6a7dc18c9f75ffae64cce4523adf4 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Ronildo Prado (bco.producao.intelectual@gmail.com) on 2018-01-25T12:34:20Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 DissSBML.pdf: 11036305 bytes, checksum: bfd6a7dc18c9f75ffae64cce4523adf4 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-01-25T12:39:08Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 DissSBML.pdf: 11036305 bytes, checksum: bfd6a7dc18c9f75ffae64cce4523adf4 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-08-28 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) / Aluminum alloys are widely used in transportation industry to reduce structural weight and fuel consumption. The development of advanced alloys and more effective technologies for joining materials contribute to achieve such objectives. AlMgSc alloys emerge as an interesting option to structural applications due to low density and high mechanical performance, as well as an attractive cost. Friction spot welding (FSpW) process is a novel solid state joining technology that has proven to be suitable for joining lightweight materials. This process is carried out in a few steps and in a short time with low thermal cycles and energy consumption as well as without extra materials addition. Thus, this process is an alternative to industrial techniques such as riveting and resistance spot welding. This work presents, for the first time, the application results of FSpW on AlMgSc sheets in overlapping configuration. The effect of the process parameters, such as rotational speed, plunge depth and plunge time, was investigated in order to obtain joints with higher lap shear strength. The Taguchi method and the analysis of variance were applied to study the influence of each parameter on mechanical properties of the joints. In addition, the welds were submitted to microstructural characterization and a material flow analysis provided an initial understanding about the formation of microstructural features. Therefore, the fatigue performance was analyzed for the condition of higher lap shear strength and the S-N curve was drawn. The results indicated a good static performance of the welds, although the fatigue performance was less satisfactory. Finally, failure mechanisms of static and dynamic tests seemed to be strongly related to geometric features, such as hook, bonding ligament and microstructural transition regions. / Ligas de alumínio são amplamente utilizadas em indústrias de transporte visando a redução do peso estrutural e consumo de combustíveis. O desenvolvimento de ligas avançadas e tecnologias mais efetivas de união contribuem para o alcance de tais objetivos. Ligas do sistema AlMgSc surgem como opção interessante para utilização estrutural devido à baixa densidade e alto desempenho mecânico, aliados a um custo atrativo. O processo de soldagem a ponto por fricção (FSpW) é uma tecnologia recente de união de materiais no estado sólido, que tem se mostrado adequado para a união de ligas leves. Tal processo é realizado em poucas etapas e curto tempo, com baixos ciclos térmicos e consumo energético e sem adição de materiais extras, se mostrando, portanto, uma alternativa a técnicas utilizadas industrialmente, como rebitagem e solda a ponto por resistência. Esse trabalho apresenta, pela primeira vez, resultados de aplicação do FSpW em chapas AlMgSc sobrepostas. O efeito dos parâmetros do processo, como velocidade de rotação, profundidade e tempo de penetração da ferramenta, foi investigado visando a obtenção de soldas com maior resistência em ensaios de cisalhamento, dita condição otimizada. Para tal, foi aplicado o método Taguchi e análise de variância para estudar a importância de cada parâmetro na resistência mecânica das juntas. Além disso, as soldas foram caracterizadas microestruturalmente e uma análise do fluxo de material proporcionou um entendimento inicial acerca da formação de algumas características microestruturais. Ademais, o desempenho em fadiga foi analisado para a condição otimizada de soldagem e a curva S-N foi levantada. Os resultados obtidos apontam um bom desempenho estático das soldas, embora o desempenho em fadiga tenha sido menos satisfatório. Finalmente, os mecanismos de falha, de ensaios estáticos e dinâmicos, foram observados e se mostraram fortemente relacionados a elementos geométricos, como cunha, e linha de união, além de regiões de transições microestruturais. / CNPq: 134654/2016-1