This work deals with composite sandwich panels, which are currently used as supporting structures for satellites. This type of panel contains an aluminum honeycomb core and two thin laminate coatings, reinforced with carbon fibers. Laminate sandwich panel coatings offer an alternative to conventional aluminum coatings, which is advantageous mainly due to the reduction of weight and increase of the flexural stiffness of the panels. The work is a parametric study of mechanical properties for several variants of the coating of sandwich panels. These are laminate coatings, differing in the orientation of the fibers in the individual layers, as well as an aluminum alloy coating. The study is divided into two parts. The first part examines the deformation-stress response of a sandwich panel, which is simply supported at the edges and loaded with pressure. The response calculation is performed using FEM and verified by the method of sum of an infinite series. The second part investigates the deformation-stress response of the joint, (node) of two sandwich panels, which is loaded by random vibrations, aimed at simulating the mechanical environment of the rocket carrier during the takeoff of the launch vehicle. The response is calculated using FEM and verified by an experiment on a vibrating stool for a selected variant of the laminate coating of sandwich panels. The results of the work can be used for the design of baffle of the X-ray imaging device (SXI), which is part of the equipment of the space satellite of the SMILE project.

Drywall board-based structures, a competent and cost-effective method of providing flexible partitioning assemblies in commercial and residential houses, are now widely used as walls or ceilings. However, the gypsum-based drywall that has been used in construction is not water-resistant and can create problems such as mold growth and structural defects. The aim of this study is 1) to develop a new sandwich panel with better physical and mechanical properties using locally sourced materials 2) to investigate the long-term hygrothermal performance of the new sandwich panel through using a numerical simulation. The sandwich panel is composed of two different thicknesses of kraft-paper honeycomb core bonded to two cementitious panels with silicone-based adhesive. The experimental results show that the sandwich panel with a thicker core has lower thermal conductivity and higher flexural strength compared to the gypsum-based drywall. The heat and moisture performance of two wall structures were performed using the WUFI Pro simulation program. The results of the modeling analysis present that wall assembly with gypsum-based drywall has higher water content than multilayer sandwich panel. In addition, the multilayer sandwich panel shows a 4.6% lower annual heat flow compared to the reference wall.

When designing structures and vehicles using composite materials, engineers need access to critical information regarding the composite materials in question. This information describes the strength, stiffness, failure mode, and other variables that can be used to properly determine how a structure will perform while undergoing various loads and effects. Within boat building industries, several ISO standards are leveraged to allow for easier and faster design of new craft. One suite of ISO standards that provide this information is the ISO 12215 group. Within this group, ISO 12215-5:2019 provides calculation methods for designing boats using fiberglass and carbon fiber composites as well as the values required to do so. Diab, a manufacturer of composite materials that are often used by boat building companies, provides guidance and its expertise when designing and building with the materials they fabricate and sell. Being familiar with the ISO 12215 standards, Diab has helped multiple customers better understand the process of designing small boats with composite materials. To ensure that it provides accurate information, Diab has validated many of the values outlined in ISO 12215-5:2019. One set of values still need to be validated, the compression strength and stiffness of an E type fiberglass. To do so, Diab engineers would like to fabricate and test coupons in a 4-point bending test then compare the results to the values outlined within ISO 12215-5:2019. This thesis outlines the theory, method, tests, and results found while validating this information. The project found that the fiberglass likely has a higher failure strength and a lower stiffness than outlined in the ISO standard. The team members in this project had hypothesized that the strength in the standard would be lower for safety reasons.

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This research investigation explores the feasibility of implementing a laser welded sandwich steel panel bridge deck system as a viable alternative to standardized reinforced concrete bridge decks. Generally used in naval ship building applications, steel sandwich panels possess attractive characteristics towards the integration with bridge infrastructure such as service life in excess of 100 plus years, dead load reduction, rapid construction, decreased closure time, and automated mass production. The lack of fatigue data for the laser "stake" welds used to create the enclosed sandwich panel geometry raised concerns with respect to fatigue life. The primary focus of this study was to determine whether or not infinite fatigue life was possible. Two different laser welding technologies were investigated, Laser Beam Welding (LBW) and Hybrid-Laser Arc Welding (HLAW). Test specimens were fabricated and tested in order to examine fatigue resistance based on a localized load effect between adjacent core stiffeners. Finite element models were used to obtain the stress range for each individual test due to complex geometry and partially restrained boundary conditions. In order to assess the fatigue performance of the overall deck system, additional finite element models were created to study the local and global behavior of different sandwich panel configurations. As a whole the investigation yielded promising results. Infinite fatigue life is achievable due to outstanding fatigue performance. The HLAW stake welds demonstrated superior fatigue resistance in comparison to the LBW process. Localized load effects can be minimized through the modification of different panel parameters. Pushing forward, full scale testing is essential to the future employment of this innovative bridge deck system. / Master of Science

This thesis documents the findings of a three year experimental investigation into the impact damage resistance and damage tolerance of composite honeycomb sandwich panels. The primary area of work focuses on the performance of sandwich panels under quasi-static and low-velocity impact loading with hemispherical and flat-ended indenters. The damage resistance is characterised in terms of damage mechanisms and energy absorption. The effects of varying the skin and core materials, skin thickness, core density, panel boundary conditions and indenter shape on the transverse strength and energy absorption of a sandwich panel have been examined. Damage mechanisms are found to include delamination of the impacted skin, core crushing, limited skin-core de bonding and top skin fibre fracture at high loads. In terms of panel construction the skin thickness is found to dominate the panel strength and energy absorption with core density having a lesser influence. Of the external factors considered the indenter noseshape has the largest effect on both failure load and associated damage area. An overview of existing analytical prediction methods is also included and the most significant theories applied and compared with the experimental results from this study. The secondary area of work expands the understanding obtained from the damage resistance study and assesses the ability of a sandwich panel to withstand in-plane compressive loading after sustaining low-velocity impact damage. The importance of the core material is investigated by comparing the compression-after-impact strength of both monolithic carbon-fibre laminates and sandwich panels with either an aluminium or nomex honeycomb core. The in-plane compressive strength of an 8 ply skinned honeycomb sandwich panel is found to be double that of a 16 ply monolithic laminate, with the type of honeycomb also influencing the compressive failure mechanisms and residual compressive strength. It is concluded that under in-plane loading the stabilising effect of the core opposes the de-stabilising effect of any impact damage.

Recentemente, tem se verificado aplicações de painéis sanduíche como elementos estruturais e não estruturais na Construção Civil, principalmente empregados em edificações. Painéis sanduíche, com faces de argamassa armada e núcleo de espuma rígida de poliuretano derivado de óleo de mamona, são estudados visando o emprego em edificações. O comportamento à flexão destes painéis, é estudado através de ensaios de flexão com vigas submetidas a carregamentos nos terços do vão. Alguns modelos teóricos para o cálculo do deslocamento são propostos e comparados com os deslocamentos obtidos nos ensaios. Ensaios de cisalhamento da espuma são feitos a fim de se determinar o seu módulo de deformação transversal, bem como a resistência ao cisalhamento. Obtém-se da análise dos resultados dos ensaios, parâmetros para projeto deste elemento. / Sandwich panels have been used as structural or nonstructural elements in the Civil Construction, mainly in building. A kind of sandwich panel, with ferrocement faces and stiff foam core of castor oil polyurethane, is studied aiming its use in building. The bending behavior of these panels is studied through bending tests with beams loaded at the third parts of the span. Some theoretical models for the deflection calculation are proposed and compared with the experimental values obtained in the tests. Shear tests on the polyurethane foam were done to determinate its shear modulus and its shear strength. Design parameters are obtained from the analysis of the experimental results.

Recentemente, tem se verificado aplicações de painéis sanduíche como elementos estruturais e não estruturais na Construção Civil, principalmente empregados em edificações. Painéis sanduíche, com faces de argamassa armada e núcleo de espuma rígida de poliuretano derivado de óleo de mamona, são estudados visando o emprego em edificações. O comportamento à flexão destes painéis, é estudado através de ensaios de flexão com vigas submetidas a carregamentos nos terços do vão. Alguns modelos teóricos para o cálculo do deslocamento são propostos e comparados com os deslocamentos obtidos nos ensaios. Ensaios de cisalhamento da espuma são feitos a fim de se determinar o seu módulo de deformação transversal, bem como a resistência ao cisalhamento. Obtém-se da análise dos resultados dos ensaios, parâmetros para projeto deste elemento. / Sandwich panels have been used as structural or nonstructural elements in the Civil Construction, mainly in building. A kind of sandwich panel, with ferrocement faces and stiff foam core of castor oil polyurethane, is studied aiming its use in building. The bending behavior of these panels is studied through bending tests with beams loaded at the third parts of the span. Some theoretical models for the deflection calculation are proposed and compared with the experimental values obtained in the tests. Shear tests on the polyurethane foam were done to determinate its shear modulus and its shear strength. Design parameters are obtained from the analysis of the experimental results.

The first part of the master’s thesis deals with sandwich materials. Starting with composition of parts which the sandwich panel is made of. The thesis continues with loading distribution and testing of entire sandwich panel. The impact of environment is considered as well. The second part is its goal – determine degradation of the properties of sandwich panels with metal sheets and core after 15 years aging in the common atmosphere and aging in moistheat and salt environment by experiment.

The intention of this thesis is to develop, evaluate new concepts and look over the current design for a container sized barge module. By request of Group Ocean, a cost and weight reduction is the main improvement criteria along with keeping the strength of the module.Five concepts are developed, analyzed and discussed with the supervisor at Group Ocean, where three are decided to be presented here. The other two are left out, since they are considered way too expensive without giving a satisfying result. The three concepts that are developed throughout this thesis are; changing to high strength steel, changing to sandwich panels and increasing stiffeners with smaller dimensions.A structural optimization is made in the software MATLAB to find out the best dimension to use for the sandwich panels. To determine the local stresses, the finite element method is used in Inventor Professional. It is also where the design and CAD modules are built in, so for simplifications it is used for FEA (Finite Element Analysis) as well. To reduce the amount of elements and nodes, shell elements and other structural constraints are used in the FEA. All the concepts are modelled with the same structural constraints so a practical comparison study can be made.The final designs resulted in a total weight reduction up to 40% with a material cost reduction of 12%. Based on what type of material is chosen, the material cost reduction range is between 3-12% and the weight reduction range is between 13-40%.