Experimental and numerical investigation of sandwich panels with bilateral connection under static loading

Sandwich structures are used in applications that required a combination of high rigidity and low weight same as aerospace, marine and automotive. Large and/or complicated sandwich structures are often manufactured by connecting pre-fabricated sandwich panels by means of connections, adhesive or bolts. In present study, two types of metallic connections were used to join two sandwich panels with glass-epoxy face-sheets and aluminum honeycomb core. Connections have the same material and different geometries and were bonded to the sandwich structures using the same epoxy as used to manufacture the face-sheets. Two groups of specimens were made and tested under bending loading. Also, a finite element simulation using LS-DYNA were performed to predict the behavior of sandwich structures. A good compliance between numerical and experimental results was observed. The effects of increasing the length and the thickness of the connections on the maximum force and energy absorption were investigated to examine the influences of involved parameters on bending response of a sandwich plates.