Dynamic Performance of a Peel Stopper for Composite Sandwich Ship Structures

Abstract

Devices known as peel stoppers were manufactured in composite sandwich panels and tested under dynamic conditions. Peel stoppers aim to arrest peeling or debonding of the composite skin from the core in composite sandwich ship hulls. The present work addresses the effectiveness of the peel stopper when faced with dynamic peeling of the skin. Several ship panels were produced and tested. Some tests to investigate whether the debonding could behave in a way that could defeat the peel stopper were also performed. Various issues surrounding the manufacture of the device were addressed. Original contributions include the manufacturing procedure of sandwich panels with multiple peel stoppers, the testing of panels (as opposed to beams) containing peel stoppers, and dynamic testing of peel stoppers.