Study on the Influence of Prefabricated Aluminum Layer Technology on the Properties of Corrugated Interface Steel/Aluminum/Aluminum Alloy Composite Panel

The thick gauge steel/aluminum/aluminum alloy composite panel is crucial for marine steel-aluminum transition joints and is extensively used in lightweight ship applications. To achieve the rolling formation of thick corrugated interface panels, this study proposes a process called "heterothermic prefabricated aluminum side + flat roller leveling at the same temperature." Firstly, steel/aluminum composite panels with corrugated aluminum surfaces and aluminum/aluminum-alloy composite panels with flat aluminum surfaces were prepared using a heterothermic prefabricated aluminum layer process. Subsequently, hot rolling was performed on both panels at the same temperature to produce a 13.44 mm corrugated interface panel. The properties of these composite panels prepared by different processes are tested and analyzed. The results indicate that excessively thin or thick aluminum layers can affect the bonding properties of the interface when maintaining a constant prefabrication reduction rate. Increasing the depressurization rate enhances interface bonding performance, while high reduction rates may cause defects at wave peaks. For an aluminum thickness of 1 mm and a reduction rate of 25%, optimal combination results in good performance with tensile shear strength reaching 61 MPa and pull-off strength up to 109 MPa. Ultimately, the composite panel bonding mechanism under the new process is illustrated.