Experimental analysis of the flexural properties of sandwich panels with cellular core materials

This paper addresses the flexural properties of sandwich structures with cellular core materials. Experimental three point bending tests are conducted in order to determine the flexural stiffness and the load-carrying capacity of these advanced composites. In addition, the significant failure modes after exceeding the load-carrying capacity are identified. The results of these analyses are compared for sandwich structures containing various core materials. These core materials comprise two aluminium foams, namely M-Pore (R) and Alporas (R), honeycomb structures and novel metallic hollow sphere structures (MHSS).