Processing, Properties, and Uses of Lightweight Glass Fiber/Aluminum Hybrid Structures

Abstract

The replacement of heavy metallic structures by high-performance lightweight composite materials is a prominent solution to fulfill the continuous demand in different industrial sectors. Lightweight structures based on aluminum-glass fiber reinforced plastics (GFRP) sandwich panels have been increasingly utilized in the shipbuilding, automotive, and aerospace industries for their striking mechanical and physical properties. These advantageous properties have resulted from the combination of the high tensile and flexural strengths, increased hardness, and the improved wear-resistance of aluminum laminate with the unique properties of lightweight stiffness and high strength weight ratio of glass fiber-reinforced. In this chapter, the various processing approaches, properties, and applications of these sandwich structures are summarized from a wide range of literature.