Abstract
The objective of this work was to characterize the full-field flexural behavior of composite sandwich beams. Finite element analysis was used to estimate the behavior of sandwich beams under three- and four-point-bending tests and were compared with experimental results obtained via digital image correlation and strain-gages. Two different core thicknesses and two different sandwich lengths were used to simulate short- and long-beam. Two distinct sandwich beams were fabricated by bonding basalt fiber reinforced polymer composite face sheets (laminates) to polyurethane core and aluminum face sheets glued to polyurethane core with an adhesive film. Full-strain-fields and flexural displacements were obtained by means of strain-gages and digital image correlation technique. Experimental results were in good agreement with predictions and digital image technique attested to be a complementary method to strain-gages in experimental full-strain-fields analysis.
Highlights
Composite sandwich structures have in recent years found well-known acceptance in advanced structural applications mainly because of their high strength and lightweight characteristics
Finite element analysis was used to estimate the behavior of sandwich beams under three- and four-pointbending tests and were compared with experimental results obtained via digital image correlation and strain-gauges
Digital image correlation (DIC) system using VIC system of Correlated Solutions was used in this work to measure the deformation and strain-full-fields of composite sandwich structures subjected to bending tests
Summary
Composite sandwich structures have in recent years found well-known acceptance in advanced structural applications mainly because of their high strength and lightweight characteristics. The flexural behavior of composite sandwich structures is very complex and standard methods for determining deflections on beams and strains in both skin and core, such as displacement transducers and strain-gages, are not sufficient for estimating the stress-strain-full-field behavior of these components. Some authors showed these difficulties [8][9][10], such as de Freitas et al [10] in a study of renovation of orthotropic steel bridge decks using sandwich structures made by two steel faces and a polyurethane core and Reis et al [11][12], studied the mechanical behavior of sandwich beam using cork as core and showed that the failure occurs mainly in the core. DIC results were compared and validated with finite element analysis, analytical and strain-gages data
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
