Sintered Connection - A Steel/CFRP Connection Module

Nowadays, carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) are present in a variety of applications. However, it is still possible to maximize the potential of CFRP by creating multi-material designs of CFRP and metal. The key to success for multi-material designs is the joining technology. In this work a metal/carbon fiber connection module was develop. Carbon fibers (CF) were integrated with stainless steel by using a powder metallurgy approach. After this, the created connection module was integrated in a fiber layup, which was infiltrated with epoxy resin by a Resin Transfer Molding (RTM) process. Leveraging from this technology, a M6 thread-forming screw was chosen and added in the sintered body. The screw press out test indicated that the strength between the screw and the sintered body was above 11 kN, which can be still enhanced for future by thread optimization. Microscopic cut images and computer tomography (CT) were used to characterize the CF in the sintered steel body and to examine the border area between the two materials.