Experimental and Theoretical Study of Sandwich Panels with Steel Facesheets and GFRP Core

This study presented a new form of composite sandwich panels, with steel plates as facesheets and bonded glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) pultruded hollow square tubes as core. In this novel panel, GFRP and steel were optimally combined to obtain high bending stiffness, strength, and good ductility. Four-point bending test was implemented to analyze the distribution of the stress, strain, mid-span deflection, and the ultimate failure mode. A section transformation method was used to evaluate the stress and the mid-span deflection of the sandwich panels. The theoretical values, experimental results, and FEM simulation values are compared and appeared to be in good agreement. The influence of thickness of steel facesheet on mid-span deflection and stress was simulated. The results showed that the mid-span deflection and stress decreased and the decent speed was getting smaller as the thickness of steel facesheet increases. A most effective thickness of steel facesheet was advised.