Experimental and Numerical Analysis of the Three-Point Bending Behavior of Hybrid Adhesive-Bonded Aluminum–Wood Plates

Hybrid components of wood-based materials offer a high potential for automotive lightweight applications. To investigate the bending behavior of hybrid aluminum-wood plates, commercial 1-mm-thick sheets of EN AW-6016-T4 aluminum alloy were adhesive-bonded with 4.2-mm-thick plates of birch wood. Orientations of the wood fibers parallel (longitudinal) as well as perpendicular (transverse) to the rolling direction of the aluminum alloy sheet and three different moisture contents of the wood plate were considered. The hybrid aluminum-wood plates were subjected to three-point bending at room temperature. Simple wood plates without aluminum alloy sheets were also tested. The bending force-bending angle curves monitored during bending, the bending angles at maximum bending force and the surface strains were evaluated. Moreover, a finite element model of the testing setup was created using the LS-Dyna software. The different moisture contents did not significantly influence the bending angle; however, moisture decreased the maximum bending force. Debonding was identified as critical failure mechanism. The FE model that considered the experimentally determined material properties was able to predict the bending behavior for different moisture conditions.