Indian Journal of Geo Marine Sciences Vol. 48 (08), August 2019, pp. 1198-1204 Effect of forming parameters on mechanical properties of epoxy-based fiber metal laminates K. Logesh 1 & V.K. Bupesh Raja 2* 1 Department of Mechanical Engineering, Vel Tech Rangarajan Dr. Sagunthala R&D Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India 2 School of Mechanical Engineering, Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India * [E-mail: bupeshvk@gmail.com] Composite materials containing epoxy/glass fiber have good strength and are of low weight. They are ideal for producing parts for automobile and railway locomotives. These composites lose their strength with age and exposure to UV rays, and exposure against solar radiation increases the rate of degradation of such materials. Fiber metal laminates (FML) are a new type of composites which can replace many other composites, as they use a metal cover over the ceramic core. They are widely used for a variety of structures in automobiles, locomotives, and aeroplanes owing to their good formability. In this experimental study, an aluminium alloy AA5052 H32 and glass fiber-reinforced polymer composite was prepared using the hand lay-up method. The FML composite was tested for tensile, shear, flexural, and Charpy impact strengths, hardness, and was subject to the Erichsen cupping test. The interface structure of the tensile test specimen characterized had fiber orientation of different sequences (0°, 45°, 90°). Further examination showed that the FML possessed fairly good mechanical properties indicating their ability to absorb light loads applied through tension, bending, and impact. [Keywords: FML; AA5052 H32; Epoxy; Automobiles; Locomotives; SEM; Formability] Introduction Fiber metal laminates (FML) are composite materials categorized under metal matrix fiber- reinforced composite materials. In FMLs, the external layers containing the metal alloy, apart from holding the reinforcement in its proper place, contribute to the fiber by enhancing the overall properties of the produced composite material. Moreover, the metal alloy protects the fibers from environmental attack by providing an adequate coating to it. Metals additionally provide the prevalent shear quality 1,3 . These light- weight structures accumulate the useful properties of metals, for example, formability, flexibility, damage tolerance, impact resistance, and surface finishing combined with the advantages of fiber composite materials. High particulate firmness, great consumption, and weakness resistance are additional properties of FML 4 . The forming of these materials is assumed to be very complex because of the great degree of substantial distinction in mechanical properties between the glass fiber/epoxy and the skin sheet. Practices of the FML sheets are fundamentally not the same as those of homogeneous metallic sheets during the shaping procedures. The interface stress between the external skin containing the metal alloy and the reinforcement constituting the center layer causes significant impact on the deformity of the FML sheet 5,6 . Besides, the sliding and shearing happens between skin layers and consequently influences the formability of the FML sheet 7 . In this research work, an FML comprising AA5052-H32 as the skin material, glass fiber as the reinforcement and epoxy resin as the binding element was produced using the roll joining process. Among the most basic and comprehensively measured properties of FML composite materials is the fact that it can be used in marine applications under tensile load and the ability of the material to restrict breaking under tensile load. The mechanical properties of the produced FML were examined under room temperature through formability analysis and uniaxial strain test. Aluminium, titanium, and magnesium-based FMLs are used in the marine atmosphere; these materials find applications in shipbuilding and offshore industries. The reason for using these FMLs are their specific weight, ductility, specific mechanical and excellent physical properties, high specific strength, and excellent corrosion resistance 5 . To gauge planar anisotropy, both the tractable properties and plastic strain proportions were measured at distinct example points on the sheet 8 . Since the extension of the glass fiber as the score sheet of the FML sheet is more than