Influence of Corrugation Angle and Load Position on the Flexural Characteristics of Lightweight Plastic Sandwich Panel with Corrugated Cores

Abstract

The flexural characteristics of corrugated sandwich panels are anisotropic and depend on its corrugation geometry and load position. The objective of this paper is to examine the influence of corrugation angle and load position on the flexural characteristics of plastic sandwich panels with trapezoidal corrugated cores subjected to ASTM three-point bending via finite element analysis. The stress distributions at mid span have been plotted to determine the stress concentration at different corrugation angle and load position. The specific flexural stiffness and modulus have been estimated from the loaddisplacement and stress-strain curves, respectively. The failure of the specimen due to stress or strain limit has been examined via maximum limit stroke. Results have shown that the specific flexural stiffness and modulus improve as the corrugation angle decreases. The load position has influenced the flexural characteristics due to the occurrence of local bending and local tension.