Stress-Strain Assessment of Honeycomb Sandwich Panel Subjected to Uniaxial Compressive Load

The ship hull structure is composed of plates and stiffened panels. Estimating the maximum load-carrying capacity, or the ultimate strength, of these structural components is fundamental. One of the main challenges nowadays is the implementation of new materials and technologies to enhance the structural integrity, economy, safety and environmentally friendly design of the ship's hull structure. A new design solution may be represented by aluminium alloy honeycomb sandwich structures, both as plane panels or stiffened ones, which are characterised by excellent impact-absorption capabilities and a high stiffness-to-weight ratio. Still, their response to some conditions typical of ship structural design needs to be deeply investigated. Axial compressive loading is one of the most critical conditions that could impact the structural integrity of such light-weight solutions. Hence, the uniaxial compressive behaviour of aluminium honeycomb sandwich structures has to be deeply investigated to promote their integration in ship structural design. Within this context, the present work performs an experimental and numerical study of a honeycomb sandwich panel subjected to uniaxial compressive loads. The results will help develop models for predicting the uniaxial compressive load-carrying capacity of hybrid honeycomb sandwiches of aluminium alloy design.

Automated summary

The ship hull structure is composed of plates and stiffened panels. Estimating the maximum load-carrying capacity of these structural components is crucial. The challenge is to implement new materials and technologies to enhance the structural integrity, economy, safety and environmentally friendly design of the ship's hull structure. Aluminium alloy honeycomb sandwich structures offer potential as a new design solution due to their impact-absorption capabilities and high stiffness-to-weight ratio. However, further investigation is needed to understand their response to typical ship structural design conditions, particularly axial compressive loading. The present work aims to experimentally and numerically study the behavior of a honeycomb sandwich panel under uniaxial compressive loads to develop models for predicting their load-carrying capacity.