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Damage Characterization And Analytical Modeling Of Quasi-Statically Indented Graphite/Epoxy-Honeycomb Core Composite Sandwich Stru, Abhendra K. Singh

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering - Dissertations

The research conducted for this dissertation focused on understanding the nature and extent of barely visible impact damage (BVID) in composite sandwich structures. This was part of a larger research effort that included studies on the influence of BVID on the compressive strengths and failure modes of composite sandwich structures. In this dissertation, the nature and extent of BVID is studied in aluminum honeycomb core sandwich panels with eight and sixteen ply, quasi-isotropic, graphite/epoxy face sheets. The damage in the sandwich structure is created quasi-statically using spherical indentors of two different sizes. Apart from the face sheet thickness and indentor …