Recent Advances in Woven Spacer Fabric Sandwich Composite Panels: A Review

Abstract

Because of the advantageous characteristics of strong integrity, lightweight, high performance, and various designs, woven spacer fabric (WSF) and its composite are extensively used in construction, traffic, and aerospace, among other fields. This paper first describes the WSF structure, including core yarns and cross-linking, and then discusses the influence of the processing parameters, among angle of the wall decisive the failure mode on the plate properties. Moreover, we summarize the molding and filling technology of WSF composite sandwich panels and discuss the process order, resulting in a significant effect on the stiffness of the sandwich composite plate; the current processing is mostly hand lay-up technology. In addition, we introduce the core and matrix material of the sandwich composite plate, which are mainly polyurethane (PU) foam and epoxy resin (70% of matrix material), respectively. Finally, the mechanical properties of WSF composite sandwich panels are summarized, including bending, compression, impact, shear, and peel properties. Factors influencing the mechanical properties are analyzed to provide a theoretical basis for future plate design and preparation.