Numerical Modelling of Fibre Metal Laminate Flexural Behaviour

The employment of hybrid materials is frequently a solution for applications demanding high structural performances. FMLs (Fibre Metal Laminates) represent a group of hybrid materials, composed of metal sheets and composite material layers, and they exhibit good mechanical properties due to the presence of both types of material. The aim of this article is to introduce an FEM numerical model suitable for the prediction of the flexural behaviour of aluminium sheets/carbon fibre composite FMLs. Particular attention was paid to the simulation of the interface between the metal and the composite material. Therefore, the model for the three-point bending loading of two types of specimens was prepared: a specimen type presented a structural adhesive at the interface, while the other one was bonded by using the resin of the composite material. Experimental tests were carried out to validate the numerical model, and both the obtained load-displacement curves and the failure characteristics were compared with the results of numerical simulation. The appropriateness of the proposed model was witnessed by the correspondence between experimental and numerical results.