The effect of curvature on the impact response of foam-based sandwich composite panels

Abstract

The aim of this study is to investigate the impact behavior and impact-induced damage of sandwich composites made of E-glass/epoxy face sheets and PVC foam. The studies were carried out on square flat and curved sandwich panels with two different radius of curvatures. Impact tests were performed under impact energies of 10 J, 25 J and 80 J using an instrumented drop-weight machine. Contact force and displacement versus time and contact force- displacement graphs of sandwich panels were presented to determine the panel response. Through these graphs, the energy absorbing capacity of the sandwich panels was determined. The impact responses and failure modes of flat and curved sandwich panels were compared and the effect of curvature on sandwich composite panel was demonstrated. Testing has shown that the maximum contact force decrease while displacement increases with increasing of panel curvature and curved panels exhibits mixed failure mode, with cylindrical and cone cracking.