Effect of Carbon Fiber Reinforcement Composite on the Formability of Multi-Layer Tube Utilizing Hydroforming Technology

Due to the importance of lightweight materials in various industries and the need to reduce energy consumption, obtaining a lightweight material with high strength and stiffness is crucial. A combination of fiber and metal materials can help us reach our goal. Fiber-metal composite tube structures can be one of these ultra-hybrid materials, which offer high strength and stiffness while maintaining flexible material properties similar to those of fiber tubes. This combination provides a lightweight structure with improved performance compared to singular tube parts. This research used a combined tubular structure of AL-6063 and carbon fiber. The free bulge hydroforming, lateral 3-point bending test, and axial compression were conducted both numerically and experimentally to evaluate the effect of carbon fiber on the AL-6063 tube. Also, a bi-layer AL-6063 tube was used to compare the results between a bi-layer metal tube and the fiber metal laminate tube (FMLT). The results demonstrated that the bi-layer tube of FMLT can exhibit considerable performance under high pressure, although it is not a suitable structure for radial loads.