| AVS 62nd International Symposium & Exhibition | |
| Plasma Science and Technology | Friday Sessions |
| Session PS+SE-FrM |
| Session: | Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Processing II |
| Presenter: | Timo Hofmann, Bundeswehr Research Institute for Material, Fuels and Lubricants, Germany |
| Authors: | T. Hofmann, Bundeswehr Research Institute for Material, Fuels and Lubricants, Germany J. Schäfer, Bundeswehr Research Institute for Material, Fuels and Lubricants, Germany T. Löbel, German Aerospace Center (DLR) T. Meer, Airbus Group Innovations J. Rehbein, Bundeswehr Research Institute for Material, Fuels and Lubricants, Germany J. Holtmannspötter, Bundeswehr Research Institute for Material, Fuels and Lubricants, Germany |
| Correspondent: | Click to Email |
The demand for environmentally friendly means of transportation has led to a strong increase in the use of carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRPs). Joining of CFRP structures is currently performed using rivets and bolts. In order to exploit further weight-saving potential, the usage of adhesive bonding is investigated.
An important key factor for the success of adhesive bonding is the surface pre-treatment of the adherents. In this contribution, CFRP surfaces were treated using Atmospheric pressure plasma jet (APPJ) as a method to clean the samples and to improve adhesion by creating surface functional groups.
We present a detailed investigation of the surface morphology and the composition of CFRPs before and after treatment with APPJ. The CFRP surfaces were examined using a combination of Field-Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FE-SEM), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), Energy-Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS). Destructive tests were carried out to determine the adhesive strength and the failure mode as a function of APPJ.
We demonstrate that APPJ-processes can be used to form structural and long term stable bonds. Our results show that through the combination of analytical techniques and destructive tests it is possible to develop an understanding of the processes at the surface and to optimize the plasma treatment process.