Rapid surface activation of carbon fibre reinforced PEEK and PPS T composites by high-power UV-irradiation for the adhesive joining of dissimilar materials
Authors/Creators
- 1. Structural Integrity & Composites Group, Faculty of Aerospace Engineering, Delft University of Technology, Netherlands
- 2. Adhesives Research, Henkel Ireland Operations & Research Ltd., Ireland
- 3. EnBio Ltd., Ireland
- 4. Department of Engineering for Innovation, University of Salento, Italy
- 5. School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, University College Dublin, Ireland
Description
Carbon fibre reinforced poly-etherether-ketone (PEEK) and poly-phenylene-sulfide (PPS) composites were ra- pidly surface-treated by high-power UV light, and then adhesively bonded to aluminium 2024-T3 and carbon fibre/epoxy composites. The results of a single lap-shear joint test demonstrated that a UV-treatment lasting for 5 s was sufficient to prevent joint failure occurring at the composite/adhesive interfaces in all cases, e.g. it increased the failure strength of the PPS composite/aluminium joints from 11.1 MPa to 37.5 MPa. Moreover, the composite/adhesive interfaces performed well upon an exposure of the joints to an environment of high hu- midity and temperature for 8 weeks. Additionally, an investigation lasting for 6 months showed no degradation of the surface functionalisation from UV-irradiation. Overall, this work highlights high-power UV-irradiation a very promising method for surface preparation of thermoplastic composites (TPCs) for adhesive joining, i.e. TPC adhesive joints with excellent structural integrity can be obtained by using this rapid, eco-friendly and low-cost surface-treatment method.