Fatigue damage development in new fibre metal laminates made by the VARTM process

ABSTRACT This paper investigates the tensile and fatigue properties of a newly developed fibre metal laminate (FML) manufactured using the vacuum assisted resin transfer moulding (VARTM) method. This manufacturing method allows the glass fibre reinforced epoxy and 2024‐T3 aluminium FML to be prepared at lower cost than conventionally manufactured FMLs. However, in order for the resin to infiltrate the FML, the metal sheets need to be perforated. These perforation holes act as crack initiators and reduce the FML's performance. Tension and fatigue test results of three different designs are reported and compared to mechanical property predictions. Additionally, single sheet Al alloy specimens were tested in order to analyse the influence of the drilling method.