Performance enhancement of sandwich panels with honeycomb-corrugation hybrid core

Abstract The concept of combining metallic honeycomb with folded thin metallic sheets (corrugation) to construct a novel core type for lightweight sandwich structures is proposed. The honeycomb–corrugation hybrid core is manufactured by filling the interstices of aluminum corrugations with precision-cut trapezoidal aluminum honeycomb blocks, bonded together using epoxy glue. The performance of such hybrid-cored sandwich panels subjected to out-of-plane compression, transverse shear, and three-point bending is investigated, both experimentally and numerically. The strength and energy absorption of the sandwich are dramatically enhanced, compared to those of a sandwich with either empty corrugation or honeycomb core. The enhancement is induced by the beneficial interaction effects of honeycomb blocks and folded panels on improved buckling resistance as well as altered crushing modes at large plastic deformation. The present approach provides an effective method to further improve the mechanical properties of conventional honeycomb-cored sandwich constructions with low relative densities.

[1]  T. Sadowski,et al.  Effective properties for sandwich plates with aluminium foil honeycomb core and polymer foam filling – Static and dynamic response , 2011 .

[2]  L. K. Seah,et al.  Quasi-Static and Low-Velocity Impact Failure of Aluminium Honeycomb Sandwich Panels , 2006 .

[3]  Dirk Mohr,et al.  Experimental Investigation on the Plasticity of Hexagonal Aluminum Honeycomb Under Multiaxial Loading , 2004 .

[4]  Lorenzo Valdevit,et al.  Structural performance of near-optimal sandwich panels with corrugated cores , 2006 .

[5]  Ashkan Vaziri,et al.  Quasi-static punch indentation of a honeycomb sandwich plate: experiments and modelling , 2006 .

[6]  Vikram Deshpande,et al.  The compressive and shear responses of corrugated and diamond lattice materials , 2006 .

[7]  A. Alavi Nia,et al.  The effects of foam filling on compressive response of hexagonal cell aluminum honeycombs under axial loading-experimental study , 2010 .

[8]  Mojtaba Sadighi,et al.  A study on the static and dynamic loading of the foam filled metal hexagonal honeycomb – Theoretical and experimental , 2011 .

[9]  Xu Yu,et al.  Foam filling radically enhances transverse shear response of corrugated sandwich plates , 2015 .

[10]  Dirk Mohr,et al.  Deformation-induced folding systems in thin-walled monolithic hexagonal metallic honeycomb , 2004 .

[11]  Jeom Kee Paik,et al.  The strength characteristics of aluminum honeycomb sandwich panels , 1999 .

[12]  Bin Han,et al.  Compressive strength and energy absorption of sandwich panels with aluminum foam-filled corrugated cores , 2013 .

[13]  Feng Jin,et al.  Bioinspired engineering of honeycomb structure – Using nature to inspire human innovation , 2015 .

[14]  Bin Han,et al.  Design optimization of foam-reinforced corrugated sandwich beams , 2015 .

[15]  B. Han,et al.  Collapse mechanisms of metallic sandwich structures with aluminum foam-filled corrugated cores , 2014 .

[16]  D. Mohr,et al.  Microstructural response of aluminum honeycomb to combined out-of-plane loading , 2003 .

[17]  N. Fleck,et al.  The out-of-plane compressive behavior of metallic honeycombs , 2004 .

[18]  D. Mohr,et al.  Nucleation and propagation of plastic collapse bands in aluminum honeycomb , 2003 .

[19]  Stelios Kyriakides,et al.  Buckling and progressive crushing of laterally loaded honeycomb , 2011 .