Tensile lap-shear and flexural behaviour of aluminium metal foil parts made by composite metal foil manufacturing

This paper deals with the production and experimental investigation of very thin aluminium 1050 grade foil products. Single lap joints and samples for flexural testing were made using composite metal foil manufacturing (CMFM) using a special brazing paste. The effect of test speeds, material thickness and lap lengths on aluminium 1050 single lap joints was analysed. The test results showed that all the samples failed within the parent metal and the bond created during the process remained intact. Two distinct modes of failure were observed for the single lap joints. Microstructural analysis was carried out to analyse the efficacy of the paste in terms of creating a strong bond between the metal foils. Comparative three-point flexural testing was conducted using a part made by conventional machining method and another made by CMFM. The results showed that the part made by CMFM has 7.7% higher load values compared to the part made by the machining method. Both the samples exhibit similar elastic and plastic regions but CMFM part also shows higher strength. The results validate the effectiveness of CMFM and demonstrate its capabilities in terms of repeatability, reproducibility and strength.