Contact problems in sandwich panels

• Main Author: Erdiansyah, Yat Michels
• Other Authors: Chai Gin Boay
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2010
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering::Materials::Material testing and characterization
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/40506
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Contact problem in sandwich panel especially the structural responses subjected to a transverse point load are being investigated and results are presented in this report. The work in this report is focused on indentation test with three different experimental test configurations and a software simulation of the tests. In the first section of project, the mechanical behaviours of sandwich panels as well as each single phase of matrix materials were investigated using INSTRON 5500R machine. Two kinds of face sheets with various thicknesses and two different sizes of honeycombs sandwich panels were subjected to transverse point loading. A total of 24 composite sandwich panels and 4 plastic face sheets were tested. In the second section, the mechanical behaviours of sandwich panels were analysed using ANSYS simulation. The simulation consisted of two test configurations and it was programmed to a setting where it matched the actual experimental condition as close as possible. Experimental results show that the thickness of face sheets and core material are the most sensitive factor to the extent of material properties in a sandwich panel, especially stiffness and hardness. The thicker face sheets and core material generally result in a higher loading capability and stiffness. Numerical results from software simulation conform to experimental results. Despite slight differences in experimental and numerical conditions, the agreement between numerical values and experimental results is good.