From last ten years, increasing demand in aircraft industry for high-performance, lightweight structures have stimulated a strong trend towards the development of refined models for fiber-metal laminates (FMLs). Lower structural weight enables the down-sizing of propulsion system and thus decreasing manufacturing and operating cost as well as has reduced the environmental impact. Fiber metal laminates are hybrid composite materials built up from interlacing layers of thin metals and fiber reinforced polymers.

Fiber metal laminates (FMLs) like Hybrid (Carbon Glass fiber reinforced aluminum laminate), GLARE (Glass Fiber Reinforced Aluminum Laminate), based on high strength glass fibers, CARALL (Carbon Fiber Reinforced Aluminum Laminate), based on carbon fibers and CARGALL (Carbon Reinforced Glass Fiber Aluminum Laminate) were developed in a hydraulic press coupled with autoclave. The hybrid nature of these produced composites would provide several advantages such as better toughness, resistance to fatigue crack growth and strength especially for aircraft applications.

Satisfactorily impressive tensile test results were obtained having high yield and tensile strength values. X ray images confirmed the excellent adhesion b/w the metal and fiber layers without having defects such as voids, entrapped bubbles and free spaces.