Structural performance evaluation of composite-to-steel weld bonded joint

You are here: Homepage > Search

Structural performance evaluation of composite-to-steel weld bonded joint

Shah, Bhavesh / Frame, Barbara / Dove, Caroline / Fuchs, Hannes

The Automotive Composites Consortium (ACC), a collaboration of Chrysler, Ford, General Motors, and the United States Department of Energy is conducting a focal project to demonstrate the use of composite materials in high volume structural applications such as an underbody capable of carrying crash loads. One of the critical challenges is to attach the composite part to the steel structure in a high-volume automotive manufacturing environment and meet the complex requirements for crash. Weld-bonding, a combination of adhesive bonding and spot welding, was selected as the primary joining method. A novel concept of bonding doubler steel strips to composite enabled the spot welding to the steel structure, ensuring the compatibility with the OEM assembly processes. The structural performance of the joint, including durability, was assessed via analytical and physical testing under quasi-static loading at various temperatures. This paper discusses the results of the experiments designed to generate key modeling parameters for Finite Element Analysis of the joint.