Hot-pressing treatment to improve the shear strength of refill friction stir spot-welded 1060 Al–carbon fiber–reinforced plastic joint

AbstractRefill friction stir spot welding (RFSSW) is applied in various industrial areas. Herein, we developed a hot-pressing post-treatment method for improving the shear strength of an Al 1060–carbon fiber–reinforced plastic joint by >40%. The strengthening effect of the hot-pressing treatment was based on the reinforced micro-mechanical interlocking mechanism and the infiltration of melted thermoplastic epoxy into the Al layer. Exploring such a high-strength joint made of dissimilar materials would open a novel route for RFSSW process design.Keywords: Refill friction stir spot weldinghot-pressdissimilar materialsaluminum sheetcarbon fiber-reinforced plastic sheettensile shear strengthfracture mechanism AcknowledgmentThis work was supported by the International Science and Technology Cooperation Project of Guangdong Province under Grant [2022A0505050054], the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant [51905112], and the Innovation and Technology Fund (ITF) under Grant [ITP/021/19AP]. We thank LetPub (www.letpub.com) for its linguistic assistance during the preparation of this manuscript.Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Data availability statementThe datasets generated or analyzed during this study can be obtained from the corresponding author on reasonable request.Additional informationFundingThis work was supported by the International Science and Technology Cooperation Project of Guangdong Province under Grant [2022A0505050054], the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant [51905112], and the Innovation and Technology Fund (ITF) under Grant [ITP/021/19AP]. We thank LetPub (www.letpub.com) for its linguistic assistance during the preparation of this manuscript.