Effective Flexural Stiffness of a New Type Sandwich Panel with Composite Skins and Corrugated Composite-foam Core Under Transverse Loading

In this research the experimental and numerical study of a new type sandwich panel with glass/epoxy skins and corrugated composite-foam core under transverse loading are considered. Sandwich panels are a type of composites that consist of two outer strong and thin skins and a light and thick core located in between the skins that provide good advantages like high strength/stiffness to weight ratio. The experimental technique, VARTM for samples production was investigated, then for testing threepoint bending test load was applied to the samples and load-deflection curves were arrived. Finite element analysis, using ABAQUS commercial software, was applied for determining maximum deflections of samples, as a second method. In experiment, two types of core are considered, which the first is a simple foam core but in second a rectangular corrugated composite laminate is improvised. Finally the experimental and finite element results as effective flexural stiffness were compared. It has been shown that the effective flexural stiffness of a sandwich panel with a corrugated composite-foam core was improved.