Effects of honeycomb core damage on the performance of composite sandwich structures

This work presents an experimental and numerical investigation of the effects of pre-existing core damage on aluminum honeycomb core composite sandwich structures. Quasi static flexural and compression experiments were performed, where the effects of core damage on the shear modulus and Young's modulus were quantified. In addition, finite element analysis was performed on the sandwich structures to elucidate the effects of the core damage on the structural response. Comparisons of experimental and finite element responses are presented for sandwich structures consisting of carbon fiber facesheets and an aluminum honeycomb core. The pre-existing core damage is observed to cause up to an 8% reduction in shear modulus and a 9% reduction in elastic modulus. It is also determined that the presence of pre-existing core damage results in an asymmetrical compressive load distribution in the composite structures.