Characterization of intrinsic interfaces between fibre-reinforced composites and additively manufactured metal for designing hybrid structures

The combination of additively manufactured metal components with thermoset fibre-reinforced composites provides the possibility to produce hybrid structures with increased functionality and reduced mass. The application in the high-performance sector, for example the implementation of such a hybrid structure in electric drive units in aviation, provides the potential to achieve the high power densities required. The challenges in this regard are the manufacturing, design and dimensioning of the interface between the two components regarding the technical requirements, such as the high temperature range. In this publication, metal specimens are manufactured using selective laser melting (SLM) and then pre-treated. The joint with the composite is obtained in the subsequent infiltration process when the composite part is manufactured. For the experimental characterization of the interface different combinations of fibre-reinforced composites and metals are used. Within roughness measurement the surface of the different materials due to the treatment were analysed and the intrinsic interfaces were microscopically examined. The joint strength is investigated in double lap shear test at different temperatures and the results are discussed based on the fabrication process and the characteristics of the hybrid interface. The results provide the basis for the future design and numerical description of the interfaces

Review on mechanical joining by plastic deformation

Mechanical joining technologies are increasingly used in multi-material lightweight constructions and offer opportunities to create versatile joining processes due to their low heat input, robustness to metallurgical incompatibilities and various process variants. They can be categorised into technologies which require an auxiliary joining element, or do not require an auxiliary joining element. A typical example for a mechanical joining process with auxiliary joining element is self-piercing riveting. A wide range of processes exist which are not requiring an auxiliary joining element. This allows both point-shaped (e.g., by clinching) and line-shaped (e.g., friction stir welding) joints to be produced. In order to achieve versatile processes, challenges exist in particular in the creation of intervention possibilities in the process and the understanding and handling of materials that are difficult to join, such as fiber reinforced plastics (FRP) or high-strength metals. In addition, predictive capability is required, which in particular requires accurate process simulation. Finally, the processes must be measured non-destructively in order to generate control variables in the process or to investigate the cause-effect relationship. This paper covers the state of the art in scientific research concerning mechanical joining and discusses future challenges on the way to versatile mechanical joining processes

Students as ‘Animal Laborans’? Tracing Student Politics in a Marketised Higher Education Setting

This article examines the widespread policy discourses that have constructed the notion of student as consumer in English higher education, and it questions the implications of such fabrications on students’ political engagement. In particular, it explores the extent to which students have been forced into a position of an ‘animal laboran’ whose primary function is to focus on immediate necessities in highly pressurised university environments. By drawing on Arendt, the article will first consider the shift towards representative practices in student politics, characterised by professionalisation of students’ unions. Second, the article will draw on Foucault to investigate the ways in which more personalised forms of students’ political participation related to private interest and single-issue campaigns can emerge in neoliberalised universities and society more broadly