Engineering Science and Materials Commons^™

Improving Product Design By Predicting Flexural Strength Of A Honeycomb Core Sandwich Panel Composite Using Ply Tensile Strength, Justin Lui, Javal Patel

Materials Engineering

The use of composite sandwich panels has increased in the aerospace industry. Prediction of a theoretical composite construction's flexural properties is important for efficient composite product designs. Utilizing the four point flexure geometry defined by Zodiac Aerospace, Santa Maria, CA, a mechanical model was derived to predict the flexural behavior of a theoretical honeycomb core sandwich composite using laminate tensile properties. The most common failure mode of Zodiac Aerospace’s four point bend test is a failure in tension of the bottom laminate. Given this information, ASTM D3039 (Standard Test Method for Tensile Properties of Polymer Matrix Composite Materials) was chosen …