A viable model for out-of-plane compressive and shear properties of Z-pin reinforced composite sandwich panels

Abstract

This paper attempts at developing a computational-analytical model to represent the behavior of Z-pin reinforced X-Cor composite sandwich panels under out-of-plane compression and shear loading. Parameters important in representing the behavior of the individual components of the sandwich are identified. The softening of Z-pins under compression from geometric and material imperfections, densification of the foam, and pin-facesheet interface strengths are incorporated into the model. For validation, the values of the parameters are obtained from experiments performed in house, and then for comparison, they are used to estimate the stiffness and strength of the specimens with experimentally obtained results reported in an open literature. Good correlation using these parameters across different specimens has implications on development of a predictive methodology for the behavior of Z-pin reinforced sandwich materials under compression and shear.