Vacuum-infused thermoplastic fibre-metal laminates – Advances in bonding and recycling

Novel methods for bonding and recycling acrylic fibre-metal laminates are investigated. Interfacial bonding is achieved via a methacrylate-based adhesive film. Short beam shear testing was performed to assess the bond quality in like-for-like comparisons of different test parameters. It is shown that apparent interlaminar shear strength is influenced by the adhesive carrier and the initiator. The latter is corroborated by micrographs showing a transition from adhesive failure to cohesive failure. It is confirmed that the adhesive is dissolved by liquid acrylic resin during infusion. Dissolution is used to debond the fibre-metal interface for recycling.