Manufacturing and Structural Analysis of a Composite Sandwich Panel Used for Aircraft Flooring

Abstract

For better performance, lighter, stronger, and more durable materials are sought for the aeronautical industry. Composite Sandwich structures help in achieving almost all such requirements. Inserting a low density, lightweight, and thick core between two strong, rigid, and thin facesheets can create a composite sandwich construction. It has been observed that there is a scarcity of research data on sandwich structures having Kevlar honeycomb as a core material. So a composite sandwich panel with Carbon fiber facesheets with a thickness of 0.4 mm and a Kevlar honeycomb core with a cell size of 4.8 mm and a height of 10 mm has been manufactured. Then a number of tests have been performed on the different specimens obtained from the sandwich panel to identify its different properties. Also Acid Corrosion test has also performed on the panel to determine the acid effects on it. From the analysis, it has been observed that the sandwich panel with Carbon fiber facesheets and Kevlar honeycomb core can be a suitable combination for aircraft floor panel.