Compression Properties and Its Prediction of Wood-Based Sandwich Panels with a Novel Taiji Honeycomb Core

Abstract

The transverse compression property is one of most important aspects of the mechanical performance of a sandwich structure with a soft core. An experiment, analytical method and three digital strain measurement systems were applied to investigate the compression behavior and the failure mechanism for a wood-based sandwich structure with a novel Taiji honeycomb core. The results show that the structure of the Taiji honeycomb can improve dramatically on compression strength and modulus of composite compared to that of a traditional hexagonal one. There was no obvious deflection in the transverse direction detected by the three digital images before the buckling of the honeycomb occurred. An analytical equation between the key structure parameters and properties of the composite were applied to predict its threshold stresses and modulus. The properties of the core determine the strength of the entire structure, but the compression strength decreases slightly with an elevated core thickness, and its effect on the compression modulus can be neglected. Both the surface sheets and loading speed have little impact on the compression strength and modulus, respectively.