Tensile behavior of aluminum/carbon fiber reinforced polymer hybrid composites at intermediate strain rates

Tensile behaviors of aluminum/carbon fiber reinforced polymer hybrid composites with different carbon fiber reinforced polymer stacking sequences were measured at strain rates between 0.001/s and 100/s and properties of the hybrid composites were compared to the results of aluminum and carbon fiber reinforced polymer tested under the same conditions. In the aluminum specimen, negative strain rate sensitivity resulted in a significant decrease in the tensile strength and positive strain rate sensitivity resulted in an increase in failure strain at higher strain rates. However, in the hybrid composite specimen, both the tensile strength and the failure strain could be increased as the strain rate increased by reinforcing the aluminum with carbon fiber reinforced polymer. The differences in tensile properties and the degree of strain rate sensitivity were extensive depending on the stacking sequence of the carbon fiber reinforced polymer layer. A Weibull function with scale parameter sigma(0) and shape parameter was used in order to describe the relation between stress and strain of aluminum/carbon fiber reinforced polymer hybrid composites, and the constitutive equation established by the Weibull function described the tensile behavior of the hybrid composites very well.