• Transactions of Materials Processing
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.36-42
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• 2016

Fiber metal laminates (FMLs) are well known for improved fatigue strength, better impact resistance, superior damage tolerance and slow crack growth rate compared to traditional metallic materials. However, defects and loss of strength of a composite material can occur due to the vertical load from the punch during the joining with a dissimilar material using a conventional clinching method. In the current study, tapered-hole clinching was an alternative process used to join Al 5052 and FMLs. The tapered hole was formed in the FML before the joining. For the better understanding of static and dynamic characteristics, a clinched joining followed by a tensile-shear test was numerically simulated using the finite element analysis. The design parameters were also evaluated for the geometry of the tapered hole by the Taguchi method in order to improve and compare the lateral joining strength of the clinched joint. The influence of the neck thickness and the undercut were evaluated and the contribution of each design parameter was determined. Then, actual experiments for the joining and tensile-shear test were conducted to verify the results of the numerical simulations. In conclusion, the appropriate combination of the design parameters can improve the joining strength and the cross-sections of the tapered-hole clinched joint formed in the actual experiments were in good agreement with the results of the numerical simulations.