Comparative analysis of aluminium core honeycomb with 3D woven Kevlar honeycomb composite

Abstract

Sandwich structures have a high capacity for stiffness, strength, and energy absorption, and are frequently used as lightweight composite components in shipbuilding and aeronautical engineering. In this work, mechanical characterisation of aluminium honeycomb and 3D-woven Kevlar honeycomb composite sandwich panels with respect to their flatwise, edgewise compression, and three-point bending tests was carried out. The experimental results show that the 3D-woven Kevlar honeycomb is better than the aluminium honeycomb for flatwise and three-point bending behaviour. In the case of edgewise compression, aluminium honeycomb shows significant results. Aluminium honeycomb cores show the plastic collapse mechanism, while Kevlar honeycomb indicates the occurrence of buckling before failure.