A laser surface treatment process, developed by researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in the United States, for lightweight carbon fiber composites and other materials, is expected to replace the surface technology of hand-treated materials through abrasive sand, sprayed steel sand, and environmentally harmful solvents.

This approach is low cost and high flexibility because removing the surface material layer by laser prior to bonding can improve the performance of the joints and provide the possibility for High-volume automation.

“Our technology is vastly superior to traditional surface treatment methods,” said Sabau, an ORNL researcher and research team leader.

Given the significant reduction in the cost of carbon-fiber polymer composites, this method increases the use of lightweight high-strength materials in the automotive industry while reducing the weight of cars and trucks by 750 lbs. ”

The surface treatment of aluminum and carbon fiber polymer composites is a key step in the bonding process, which will directly affect the quality of the seams.

During the rolling process, the surface of aluminum tends to form oil layers and other contaminants, while the carbon fiber surface usually contains many demoulding materials.

“These surface contaminants can affect surface energy and bonding quality, so removing them is essential,” Sabau explained.

In addition, the laser penetrates to the top layer of the resin, allowing a single carbon-fiber exposure to direct bonding to the binder, thereby achieving a higher quality of bonding.

The amount of energy absorbed by the fabricated surface of the laser structure is about 200% more than the conventional baseline joint.

Sabau said the process also doubles the energy absorption of the joint and therefore can be used in collision safety devices and armored vehicles.