Prediction of elastic properties of honeycomb core materials and analysis of interlaminar stress of honeycomb sandwich composite plate

Abstract

Theoretical formulas for effective elastic modulus and Poisson's ratio of honeycomb core materials were proposed considering the bending, axial and shear deformations of cell walls. Theoretical results obtained by the formulas showed orthotropic elasticity and large Poisson's ratio, which were comparable to results by finite element analysis(FEA). Tensile test of honeycomb sandwich composite(HSC) plates was performed for analysis of their deformation behaviors and interlaminar stresses. Equivalent plate model using the theoretical results of honeycomb core layer show that interlaminar shear stress occurring due to large difference of Poisson's ratio between skin and honeycomb core layers led to the delamination in HSC plate under tensile loading. Load-displacement behavior of HSC specimen simulated by equivalent plate model coincided fairly with that of detailed FEA model similar to experimental results.