Gavelek J, Rösel U, Drummer D (2026)
Publication Type: Journal article, Review article
Publication year: 2026
Book Volume: 14
Article Number: 100428
DOI: 10.1016/j.jajp.2026.100428
Reducing greenhouse gas emissions in manufacturing requires shorter and less resource-intensive process chains, particularly for hybrid lightweight structures made of metals and continuous fiber-reinforced thermoplastics (CFRT). This study introduces in-situ pin caulking as a combined joining process that integrates hole formation, pin insertion, consolidation, and caulking into a single step. The aim is to reduce process complexity while maintaining the mechanical performance of the joint. The process was investigated using CFRT organo sheets and cold bulk formed steel pin structures with two pin heights, corresponding to caulking degrees of 10 % and 50 %. Joint performance was compared with that of a conventional pin-caulked reference process by means of lap shear and cross-tension tests, microscopy, micro-computed tomography, and surface measurements. The results show that in-situ pin caulking is fundamentally suitable for producing form-fitting hybrid joints with caulking geometries comparable to those of the conventional process. Under shear loading, both processes provided similar strength. Under cross-tension loading, all in-situ specimens showed lower strength. Microstructural analyses indicate that this is mainly caused by the different hole formation mechanism, which leads to less favorable fiber reorientation, local fiber damage, and pronounced laminate indentation around the pin.
APA:
Gavelek, J., Rösel, U., & Drummer, D. (2026). In-situ pin caulking: A novel process route for CFRT - Steel hybrid joints. Journal of Advanced Joining Processes, 14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jajp.2026.100428
MLA:
Gavelek, Jan, Uta Rösel, and Dietmar Drummer. "In-situ pin caulking: A novel process route for CFRT - Steel hybrid joints." Journal of Advanced Joining Processes 14 (2026).
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