Work

Balancing interfacial adhesion and subsurface integrity in abrasive blasting pretreatment of stainless steel for composite bonding

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: For metal–polymer assemblies that undergo forming after bonding, an effective abrasive blasting pretreatment must provide high interfacial adhesion while minimizing subsurface work hardening of the metal substrate. This study investigated eight industrially relevant dry and wet grit blasting processes applied to 17-4PH (05Cr17Ni4Cu4Nb) stainless steel bonded with polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)/Nomex phenolic composites. Interfacial bonding performance was evaluated through peel tests, surface morphology analysis, apparent surface free energy measurements, cross-sectional observations, and post-peel surface analysis, while subsurface integrity was assessed using nanoindentation and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD). Fine Al 2 O 3 wet blasting provided high and consistent peel strength with limited subsurface hardening. In particular, the 40 μm Al 2 O 3 route achieved a mean peel strength of approximately 1.06 N/mm and a hardening rate of 0.58%. In contrast, dry SiC blasting exhibited lower and more variable peel strength together with more pronounced near-surface crystallographic changes. These findings support the combined evaluation of interfacial adhesion and subsurface response when selecting blasting pretreatments for metal–polymer assemblies intended for forming after bonding.

Source: Journal of Materials Research and Technology

DOI: 10.1016/j.jmrt.2026.11.039

Authors: Haitang Chen, Linlin Zhu, Xiongrong Huang, Haosheng Han, Chengliang Hu

Institutions: Shanghai Jiao Tong University, State Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix Composites

Language: English

Topic: Erosion and Abrasive Machining

Subfield: Mechanical Engineering

Field: Engineering

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $1,640

Funder: National Natural Science Foundation of China