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Technical Paper

Damage Tolerance of Honeycomb Sandwich Composite Panels

2002-04-16
2002-01-1537
During this study, a number of 8.5-inch by 11.5-inch flat honeycomb sandwich panels were inflicted with low energy impact damage, inspected non-destructively, and tested for residual in-plane compressive strength. Each panel had either a 3/8-inch or 3/4-inch low density Nomex honeycomb core, and either 2-ply, 4-ply or 6-ply face sheets. The face sheets were either carbon or Eglass (prepreg) fabric. The panels were either clamped or simply supported in a test fixture during impact from a gravity assisted drop mechanism, and impacted with either a 1-inch or 3-inch diameter spherical indenter. After impact the damage to each panel was characterized by (1) ultrasonic through-transmission to obtain a c-scan representing planar damage area, (2) indentation volume and depth, and finally (3) visual inspection to rate the damage according to a predetermined rating scale. The panels were then tested for in-plane compressive strength.
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