During this study, a number of 8.5-inch by 11.5-inch flat honeycomb sandwich panels were inflicted with low energy impact damage, inspected non-destructively, and tested for residual in-plane compressive strength. Each panel had either a 3/8-inch or 3/4-inch low density Nomex honeycomb core, and either 2-ply, 4-ply or 6-ply face sheets. The face sheets were either carbon or Eglass (prepreg) fabric. The panels were either clamped or simply supported in a test fixture during impact from a gravity assisted drop mechanism, and impacted with either a 1-inch or 3-inch diameter spherical indenter. After impact the damage to each panel was characterized by (1) ultrasonic through-transmission to obtain a c-scan representing planar damage area, (2) indentation volume and depth, and finally (3) visual inspection to rate the damage according to a predetermined rating scale. The panels were then tested for in-plane compressive strength. After data analysis, a number of conclusions were reached about the interaction of various parameters. The two most significant conclusions are: (1) residual strength correlates well with planar damage area (c-scan) and may decrease to 40-45% of virgin strength, and (2) visual inspection is unreliable for evaluating damage inflicted by blunt objects (3-inch spherical indentor).


    Access

    Check access

    Check availability in my library

    Order at Subito €


    Export, share and cite



    Title :

    Damage Tolerance of Honeycomb Sandwich Composite Panels


    Additional title:

    Sae Technical Papers


    Contributors:

    Conference:

    General Aviation Technology Conference & Exhibition ; 2002



    Publication date :

    2002-04-16




    Type of media :

    Conference paper


    Type of material :

    Print


    Language :

    English




    Damage tolerance assessment of composite sandwich panels with localised damage

    Zenkert, Dan / Shipsha, Andrey / Bull, Peter et al. | Tema Archive | 2005




    Modal density of composite honeycomb sandwich panels

    Renji, K. / Nair, P.S. / Narayanan, S. | Tema Archive | 1996


    Damage Tolerance and Fail-Safety of Composite Sandwich Panels

    Kan, Han-Pin / Deo, Ravi B. / Russell, Steven G. et al. | SAE Technical Papers | 1994