A methodology for improving shear performance of marine grade sandwich composites: Sandwich composite panel with shear key

Researchers have developed several measures to improve shear resistance capacity of sandwich structures composed of thin composite face sheets of Eglass/epoxy and low density PVC foam core, but these methodologies are either costly or result in damage to the sandwich composites before being placed for production. A novel, innovative cost-effective methodology of introducing fiberglass shear keys attached to face skins to improve the stiffness and strength of the sandwich composite panel is being proposed in this manuscript. Manufacturing of the sandwich composite panels along with experimental and numerical investigations have been performed in this manuscript to demonstrate the potential of the proposed simple methodology which can be utilized for shear-sensitive design and analysis of sandwich composite structures and/or components. A parametric study has also been carried out to determine the effect of change in shape, size, spacing and material of the shear keys on the sandwich composite panel global response. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.