Manufacturing process effect on the bending characteristics of titanium-lattice/FRP hybrid structures

High performances in terms of mechanical properties and lightweight are increasingly required to materials, and a solution to meet these requirements is the adoption of innovative hybrid structures made of metallic lattice core and composite material skins. In this work, two different processes are analysed and compared: co-curing and bonding. In the former case, the prepreg layers are laid up directly on the lattice, which acts as a mould. Instead, in the latter case, a composite material laminate is cured alone, and then it is bonded to the core. The aim of the work is to compare the flexural properties of the laminates obtained through the two abovementioned processes. Both types of specimens demonstrated a similar stiffness, but the co-cured one presented a higher strength, with an improvement of about 10%. This finding, coupled with the greater process ease, makes co-curing the best technological solution.