Mechanical Properties Investigation of Composite Sandwich Panel and Validation of FEM Analysis

Mechanical Properties Investigation of Composite Sandwich Panel and Validation of FEM Analysis

Szymon Jakubiak, Filip Ćwikła, Witold Rządkowski

Abstract. Composite sandwich structures allows for significant mass reduction compared with traditional steel frames used in Formula Student bolides. However, in order to reach a full potential of composite monocoque chassis and ensure safety of the driver, it is required to perform physical tests of sandwich structure and its elements, supported with FEM analysis. Mechanical properties of sandwich panel are affected by a variety of factors, including but not limited to, manufacturing technique and curing conditions. Therefore, series of experiments were performed to determine in-plane tensile, compressive and shear properties of skin material fabricated in conditions related to those projected for monocoque. The acquired data was compared with expected results and used in further FEM analysis. Apart from uniaxial tensile tests, the whole sandwich structure, was tested in 3-point bending and “punch through” strength. A FEM model of each test was created in order to validate a data from more complex simulations.

Keywords
Composites, Carbon Fibers, Epoxy Resin, Tensile Test, Aluminum Honeycomb Sandwich

Published online 5/25/2019, 8 pages
Copyright © 2019 by the author(s)
Published under license by Materials Research Forum LLC., Millersville PA, USA

Citation: Szymon Jakubiak, Filip Ćwikła, Witold Rządkowski, Mechanical Properties Investigation of Composite Sandwich Panel and Validation of FEM Analysis, Materials Research Proceedings, Vol. 12, pp 1-8, 2019

DOI: https://doi.org/10.21741/9781644900215-1

The article was published as article 1 of the book Experimental Mechanics of Solids

Content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 licence. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI.

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