Compression and Three-Point Bending Analyzes of Aerospace Sandwich Composites produced with Polymeric Core Materials with ANSYS

Abstract

Honeycomb materials are widely used in aircraft structures. However, these structures have disadvantages in longitudinal compression forces. While aluminum is generally used as the face material in sandwich composites used in aircraft structures, Nomex honeycomb or aluminum honeycomb structures are used as the core material, depending on the design. The reduced interface area between the core and the surface layer also increases the probability of separation of the surface and core under an applied load. In this study, attention is drawn to the combination of polymeric foam - honeycomb structure as a potential material to eliminate or minimize these disadvantages of honeycomb core structures. In this study, polyurethane foam filled PLA (polylactic acid) honeycomb core sandwich composite with carbon fiber faces was subjected to compression and three-point bending tests in ANSYS. The results obtained show that this new material can be used in aerospace materials.