Forming limit and failure behavior of fiber metal laminates under low-constraint conditions

Fiber Metal Laminates(FMLs), as high-performance composite materials, demonstrate exceptional potential in a wide range of applications, such as aeronautical and astronautical industries. However, the traditional cured FMLs possess complex interlayer stresses and low forming limits, restricting further promotion and application of FMLs. Low-constraint FMLs exhibit a lower forming resistance and better formability due to no curing during the forming process; however, the formation mechanism and response are not clear. This paper presents the Forming Limit Diagram(FLD) of low-constraint GLARE(glass fiber reinforced aluminum laminates) based on the forming limit test, and compares it with the conventionally cured laminates to evaluate the differences in the forming limit. In addition, combined with the analysis of failure mechanism and micro-deformation mechanism of specimens, the influence of different temperatures(20–80 °C)and forming states(width) on the deformation performance of laminates is further explored. The results reveal that the forming limit curve of low-constraint laminates shifts up with the increase of temperature, the forming limit initially increases with the increase of width, then followed by a gradual decrease, and the maximum principal strain of low-constraint laminates is increased by29% at 80 °C compared to 20 °C. The cured laminate has a principal strain range of 0–0.02, while the low-constraint laminates have a principal strain range of 0.03–0.14. Compared with cured laminates, low-constraint laminates possess a higher forming limit due to the improvement in deformable degree between layers by resin flow and fiber slippage, which enhances their formability.This study is expected to serve as a reference for establishing forming limit criteria and optimizing forming schemes for low-constraint laminates.