THE STIFFNESS AND WELDABILITY OF AN ULTRA-LIGHT STEEL SANDWICH SHEET MATERIAL WITH A FIBROUS METAL CORE

摘要

A sandwich material, based on a pair of thin stainless steel faceplates by a core incorporating stainless steel fibres, has recently been developed. This material has the potential to exhibit an attractive combination of properties, while retaining formability and general handling characteristics similar to those of conventional steel sheet. Three different core structures have been investigated: (a) transversely-aligned fibres bonded to the faceplates by adhesive, (b) a sintered fibre mat bonded to the faceplates by adhesive and (c) a sintered fibre mat brazed to the face plates. The beam stiffnesses of these three structures have been measured and compared with theoretical predictions. Through-thickness electrical resistances were measured and compared with predictions from simple analytical models. These data were correlated with the results of spot welding tests. It is shown that structure (c) is readily weldable, whereas there are certain difficulties with the adhesively-bonded sheets.