Investigations of the properties of fiber-metal laminates with stiffening rib embossed by the Incremental Sheet Forming technology

The paper presents the manufacturing process and the results of experimental investigations of 3/2 Fiber Metal Laminates with stiffening ribs made as a longitudinal embossment in external metal layer. The layers were adhesively bonded in an autoclave process, the GFRP layers were made from a prepreg, while the metal layers were made of aluminum alloy sheets 2024-T3 alclad. The stiffening ribs in the metal layer was formed using the Incremental Sheet Forming technology. The FML samples were subjected to buckling tests in order to determine the influence of the rib on the buckling resistance. On the basis of experimental research results, it was found that the stiffening rib in the outer layer of the 3/2 FML composite contributes to the increase of the critical force by about 34.47%.