Effect of extruded low-density polyethylene on the microstructural and mechanical properties of hot-press produced 3105 aluminum composites

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of low-density polyethylene on the microstructural and mechanical properties of 3105 aluminum composites produced by the continuous hot-press method. This production method ensures superior flatness to the composite and excellent peel strength between the composite plies. To this end, the bond between AA3105 and low-density polyethylene was initially characterized using a T-Peel stripping test. Tensile tests were performed on AA3105, low-density polyethylene and 3105 aluminum composites for determining mechanical behavior. A scanning electron microscope was used to characterize the cross-sectional cuts of the 3105 aluminum composite specimens obtained from the tensile tests. The microstructural analysis shows that low-density polyethylene and AA3105 exhibit a good interfacial adhesion bond before the fracture of the first AA3105 sheet. The results of the tensile tests clearly show that the uniform elongation at maximum load (Ag) of the 3105 aluminum composite is higher than that of AA3105. Furthermore, AA3105 exhibits negative strain rate sensitivity due to dynamic strain aging while 3105 aluminum composite exhibits a higher strain-hardening exponent than AA3105. Due to the higher strain rate sensitivity and strain hardening exponent, the 3105 aluminum composite exhibits higher formability than AA3105. This is of crucial importance for the manufacturing process.