《The strength characteristics of aluminum honeycomb sandwich panels》.pdf

Thin-Walled Structures 35 (1999) 205–231 /locate/tws The strength characteristics of aluminum honeycomb sandwich panels a,* b a Jeom Kee Paik , Anil K. Thayamballi , Gyu Sung Kim a Department of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering, Pusan National University, Pusan 609- 735, South Korea b Chevron Shipping Co., San Francisco, CA 94105, USA Abstract Aluminum sandwich construction has been recognized as a promising concept for structural design of lightweight transportation systems such as aircraft, high-speed trains and fast ships. The aim of the present study is to investigate the strength characteristics of aluminum sandwich panels with aluminum honeycomb core theoretically and experimentally. A series of strength tests are carried out on aluminum honeycomb-cored sandwich panel specimen in three point bending, axial compression and lateral crushing loads. Simplified theories are applied to ana- lyze bending deformation, buckling/ultimate strength and crushing strength of honeycomb sandwich panels subject to the corresponding load component. The structural failure character- istics of aluminum sandwich panels are discussed. The test data developed are documented.  1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Aluminium sandwich panel; Honeycomb core; Ultimate strength; Crushing strengh 1. Introduction For design and construction of lightweight transportation systems such as satel- lites, aircraft, high-speed trains and fast ferries, structural weight saving is one of the major considerations. To meet this requirement, sandwich construction is fre