Mechanical Behaviour of Honeycomb Sandwich Structures Under Bending (Paperback)

Presenting the experimental, numerical and analytical characterizations of composite sandwich structures needed to optimize structure design. In this study, the effects of varying honeycomb core ribbon orientation and varying face sheet thickness's have on the flexural behavior of honeycomb sandwich structures was investigated. A failure mode map for loading under three point bending is developed showing the dependence of failure mode on face sheet to core thickness and honeycomb core ribbon orientation. Experimental data sufficiently agrees with theoretical predictions. A finite element model was developed to validate experimental and analytical analysis and produced agreeable results. Optimal bending stiffness and strength with respect to minimum weight was analyzed. The results reveal an important role core ribbon orientation has in a sandwich beams' bending behavior, and design of unequal ply count face sheets can produce higher stiffness to weight ratios than conventional symmetric sandwich structures of similar weight when subjected to a single static load.