Experimental and simulation analysis of the influence of GNPs on the interfacial properties of CF/Epoxy − TA15 fiber metal laminates

• First SLM-enabled in situ growth of GNPs on Ti surfaces for FMLs, TiC interfacial layer formed via SLM enhances mechanical interlocking. • CF/Epoxy-Ti composites with 1.6 wt% GNPs exhibited the highest shear strength of 22.4 MPa. • MD simulations reveal 375.33 kcal/mol interfacial energy increase by GNPs, Multi-scale approach combines SLM processing and atomic-level MD validation. This study investigates the effect of graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) on the interfacial and mechanical properties of carbon fiber reinforced epoxy resin-based titanium alloy laminates (CF/Epoxy − Ti). Selective laser melting (SLM) was employed to deposition GNPs on Ti plates, and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were conducted to explore the reinforcement mechanism. Experimental results revealed that SLM-treated Ti plates increased the shear strength of fiber metal laminates (FMLs) by 120 % (from 1.5 MPa to 3.3 MPa) compared to untreated plates. Further, FMLs with 1.6 wt% GNPs exhibited the highest shear strength (22.4 MPa), significantly surpassing untreated FMLs. Microscopic analyses and MD simulations demonstrated that GNPs enhance interfacial energy, thereby improving the mechanical properties of FMLs.