Development of facesheet for honeycomb FRP sandwich panels

Abstract

Honeycomb fiber-reinforced polymer sandwich panels with sinusoidal core geometry have shown to be successful both for new construction and rehabilitation of existing bridge decks. This investigation is aimed to study the strength properties of the facesheet and to develop an optimized facesheet configuration. A progressive failure model is developed using finite element method to predict the behavior of laminated composite plates up to failure, where the failure criteria are introduced through prescribed user-defined subroutines. The accuracy of the model is verified through correlations between finite element results and existing experimental data. This model is then applied to carry out a parametric study on facesheet. Three variables are included: material properties, including bidirectional stitched fabrics, unidirectional layer of fiber roving, and chopped strand mat; layer thickness; and layer sequences. The quality of each alternative is evaluated based on stiffness and strength performance. In order to further investigate the behavior of facesheet experimentally, coupon samples on selected configurations to evaluate compressive, bending, and shear strengths were tested. The test results are also used to validate the progress failure model developed in this study. Through this combined experimental and numerical study, the strength properties of facesheet are obtained, which permit the optimization of facesheet design.