TPRC Study Shows Grit‑Blasting Improves Fracture Toughness of Titanium–Thermoplastic Composite Joints

ThermoPlastic composites Research Center (TPRC, Enschede, Netherlands) researcher Vanessa Marinosci has recently published an article called “Effect of grit-blasting on the fracture toughness of hybrid titanium-thermoplastic composite joints” in the International Journal of Adhesion and Adhesives. In the article, the correlation between mechanical performance and titanium surface morphology of co-consolidated Ti6Al4V-C/PEKK joints is described.

Various surface morphologies were obtained by grit-blasting the titanium surface using different blasting pressures. Subsequently, test coupons were manufactured by co-consolidating titanium-unidirectional C/PEKK in an autoclave. Topographical characterization of the titanium surface and evaluation of interfacial fracture toughness were carried out, in order to correlate joint mechanical performance to titanium's roughness parameters. Furthermore, crack surface analysis was conducted, by means of optical microscopy, to identify and quantify the failure mechanisms driving joint mechanical performance. 

The research was conducted by TPRC in collaboration with the University of Twente (UT, Enschede, Netherlands). The financial support of the Dutch Research Council (NWO) and the TPRC members is gratefully acknowledged.

For more information on this topic, register for the next episode of the TPRC Talks “Joining with Thermoplastic Composites: Facing the Interface” on June 28, 2021 at 4:00 p.m. CET (10:00 a.m. EST).