Core Materials

The other main component of a sandwich structure is the core material. The core has a relatively low density, giving a result in high flexural strength and stiffness properties relative to the overall panel density. To maintain the effectiveness of the sandwich structure the core

This text box is where the unabridged thesis included the following third party copyright material:

Herrmann A, Zahlen P, Zuardy I. Sandwich structures technology in commercial aviation. Sandwich Structures 7: Advancing with Sandwich Structures and

Chapter I Introduction

13 must be strong enough to withstand the compressive or crushing loads placed on the panel. The core also must resist the shear forces involved. If the core collapses, the mechanical stiffness advantage is lost. The following section will briefly discuss the various core materials that are investigated in this study.

1.5.2.1 Polymer Foam

Polystyrene (PS) foams were first made in 1931. However, polyurethane (PU) was invented by Dr. Otto Bayer at the beginning of the Second World War. It was first used as a replacement for rubber and also used as a coating to protect other common materials, such as metals and wood.

A few years after the war, flexible PU foam was invented and used for cushioning in furniture and in the automotive industry. Nowadays, common polymer foams include polymethacrylimide (PMI), polyethylene terephthalate (PET),styreneacrylonitrile (SAN) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) foams.

The mechanical response of polymeric foams depends on the geometric characteristics of the cell, such as the cell wall thickness, density, shape and size distributions, and on the intrinsic properties of the polymer in the cell wall (11). Typical compression load-displacement traces for PMI foam with increasing density are shown in Figure 1.5.

Chapter I Introduction

14 Figure 1.5Typical stress strain curve for PMI foam (11).

It shows an initial linear increase in stress and a plateau regime of nearly constant stress in the middle region, which is followed by a steep increase in flow stress at the end of the test. In general, this trend is similar for most polymer foams based on both open and closed cells. From Figure 1.5, the large plateau stress is common to polymer foam, indicating that the foam can be compressed to very large strains at a constant force. They have great potential to absorb large amounts of energy at relatively low stresses. To this extent, polymer foams are usually employed to improve the energy absorption capabilities of the structures. However, significant degradation of the properties of the polymer foam occurs at lower temperatures and environmental effects such as moisture and humidity where a complete loss of stiffness and strength are experienced.

This text box is where the unabridged thesis included the following third party copyright material:

Matthews FL, Rawlings RD. Composite Materials: Engineering and Science: Woodhead Publishing; 1999.

Chapter I Introduction

15 1.5.2.2 Honeycomb Cores

Honeycombs are based on series of cells, nested together to form structures similar in appearance to the cross-sectional slice of a beehive. In its expanded form, a honeycomb is 90 -99 percent open space structure. Honeycomb structures are produced by using a variety of different materials, depending on their end application. For example honeycomb cores made from polypropylene are used for low strength and stiffness load applications, while aluminium honeycomb cores with high strength and stiffness are used in high-performance applications. In addition, aluminium honeycombs are fire-retardant and have a good impact resistance. They offer the best strength to weight ratio of the core materials used in aircraft industries. However, aluminium honeycomb is more expensive and difficult to use in complex shapes. In general, the mechanical properties of honeycombs are highly anisotropic. In sandwich construction with foam or honeycomb as a core, the primary loads are carried by the facesheets, however, in textiles or truss-cored structures, a portion of the primary load is carried by the core.

1.5.2.3 Corrugated Cores

Corrugated core, especially cardboard, is well known for its low cost. Corrugated paper was patented in England in 1856, and used as a liner for tall hats. The single-sided corrugated board patent was awarded to Albert Jones (13) in 1871. Jones used the corrugated board for wrapping bottles and glass lantern chimneys. The first machine for producing large quantities of corrugated board was built in 1874 by G. Smyth, and in the same year, Oliver Long (14) improved a design proposed by Jones and invented corrugated board with liner sheets on both sides.

During the past decade, many attempts have been made to study the effect of dynamic loading on corrugated core sandwich structures. Fleck and Deshpande (15) found that

Chapter I Introduction

16 corrugated cores offer a higher blast resistance than pyramidal lattice cores. In addition, the dynamic compressive behaviour of corrugated sandwich structure is considerably different from their response under quasi-static conditions. Kazemahvazi et. al. (16) reported that when corrugated structures are loaded quasi-statically, they typically fail through plastic buckling with a sharp drop in load after the initial peak. However, it was shown that the buckling response of the core decreased significantly with increasing loading rate, resulting in an increased peak load in the structures. Figure 1.6 shows a typical stress-time history for a CFRP corrugated core following dynamic testing.

Figure 1.6Typical stress-time history of the CFRP corrugated core at a different impact

velocities (16).

1.6 Adhesive

Adhesive systems are formulated to bond any combination of core materials and rigid layers. The quality of the final panel depends on the choice of adhesive, efficient application of the adhesive and a surface pre-treatment. Production cycle times and output are also dependent on the type of adhesive used and its thin film reactivity. In general, the most commonly-used

This text box is where the unabridged thesis included the following third party copyright material:

Gibson LJ, Ashby MF. Cellular Solids: Structure and Properties: Cambridge University Press; 1999.

Chapter I Introduction

17 adhesive systems are based on epoxy resins, due to their higher ability to bond to the core, their resistance to fatigue and their good mechanical properties.