Composite Materials and Sandwich Structures - A Primer

2.8. Trimming and Machining of Composites

to trim and machine composite materials. Special
OPeelal tools and operation techniques are neededstructures (composite structures with layers of metallic
Cutting equipment is required for hybrid compositeoperation should
materials). The proper trimming and machining meet the requirements that there is no
heating.
splintering or delamination of surfaces that can be seen visually, and no discoloration due to
Specialized tooling and controlled feeds and speeds are needed to meet the machining drilling requirements.
Jobbers conventional carbide tipped or solid carbide drills are well suited. Recommended speed
of 3000 RPM is
depends on the hole diameter. For holes up to 0.25 inch (6.35 mm) a drilling speed holes of 0.375 inch (9.5
recommended and for larger diameter holes a reduced speed is suggested (e.g. for
mm)a speed of 1000 RPM).
is drilled
For most cases drilling a hole in composites is a two step process. Plain hole or countersink hole
A coolant may be used to help flush chips from the drill.
initially and then a reaming operation follows.
Some type of vacuum system is also required to contain dust generated by drilling operation.
Due to the brittle nature of composites some type of back-up support on drill exit side is required to
prevent splintering of the material on exit side. Common back up materials are- fiberboard, fiberglass,
wood, and aluminum. Even when drills or cutters are properly used, some burrns or splinters occur. These
are easily removed by sandpaper.

3. SANDWICH STRUCTURES
Sandwich construction has found extensive application in aircraft, missile and spacecraft structures due to
high strength to weight ratio. This type of construction corsists of thin, stiff and strong sheets of metallic
or fiber composite material separated by a thick layer of low density material as shown in Figure 13. The
thick layer of low density material commonly known as core material may be light foam type (e.g. Nomex
core or Rohacell as shown in Figure 14a) or metallic honeycomb as shown in Figure 14b or corrugated
core as shown in Figure 14c. The core material is generally adhesively bonded to the face sheets.

Face
sheet

-Honeycomb
core
Adhesive
layer

Ribbon
duection
Face
sheet

Figure 13- Honeycomb Construction

(a) Foam (b) Honeycomb (c) Corrugated

Figure 14- Types of Cores

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Composite Materials and Sandwich Structures -A Primer

In some sandwich construction the core may be made of metallic or composite material corrugations
(Igure T4c). The corrugated core may be adhesively bonded, rivet bonded or weld bonded if the face
sheets are metallic material, For sandwich construction using composite face sheets, the core may be
bonded or co-cured with face sheets, Asandwich construction has following advantages
High ratio of bending stiffness to weight as compared to monolithic construction.
High resistance to mechanical and sonic fatigue.
Good damping characteristic.
Improved thermal insulation.
No mechanical fasteners, hence, no crack initiation sites.
The mains disadvantages of honeycomb construction are
In-service trapped moisture in the core material causes corrosion problems. Hence, degradation in the
structural integrity of the parts.
A good quality control is needed during the fabrication process to make sure that there is no
disbonding in the adhesive layer.
Disbonds may initiate and propagate in the adhesive layer during service and thereby reduce the load
carrying capacity of structures.
3.1. Failure Modes
Failure modes in sandwich structures are different from those in monolithic structures. The general failure
modes that might occur in sandwich structures, depending on the design and core material, are shown in
Figure 15 (Ref. 3).

(u) General Buckling (b) Shear Crimping

of Pancl
ADHESIVI OND FAILUs

coRI COMPRSION PAILURE

(d) Intraccll Buckling

(c) Face Wrinkling

ANu IN VACNo () Transverse Slhear

(c) Tensile Failure in Failure
Facing

(g) Flexural Crushing (h) Local Crushing of

of Core Core

Flgure 15- Fallure Modes in SaAdwich Structures

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Composite Materials and Sandwich Structures - APrimer
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sufficient or
General Buckling- The general buckling of a panel might occur if the panel thickness is not
core rigidity is insufficient.
shear
Shear Crimping- This occurs as a consequence of general buckling. It is caused by low core
modulus or lowadhesive shear strength.
Face Wrinkling- In this failure mode, a face sheet buckles acting as a "plate on an elastic foundation"
with core acting as an elastic foundation. The wrinkling of face sheet may occur inwards or outwards
depending on relative strength of core in compression and adhesive strength in tension.
Intracell Buckling (Dimpling)- This failure mode occurs in panels with cellular cores due to thËn face
sheets or large core cell size. This failure mode may propagate in adjoining cells and thus causing face
sheet wrinkling.

Face Sheet Failure- This failure mode is caused by insufficient panel thickness, face sheet thickness or
face sheet strength.

Transverse Shear Failure- This type of failure mode is caused by insufficient core shear strength or
panel thickness.

Flexural Crushing of Core- This is caused by insufficient core compressive strength or excessive panel
deflection.

LocalCrushing of Core- This failure mode is caused by low core compressive strength.

3.2. Design Considerations

A sandwich structure is designed to make sure that it is capable of taking structural loads throughout its
design life. In addition, it should maintain its structural integrity in the in-service environments. The
structure should satisfy the following criteria:
The face sheets should have sufficient stiffness to withstand the tensile, compressive, and shear
stresses produced by applied loads.
The core should have sufficient stiffness to withstand the shear stresses produced by applied loads.
The core should have sufficient shear modulus to prevent overall buckling of the sandwich structure
under loads.
Stiffness of the core and compressive strength of the face sheets should be sufficient to prevent the
wrinkling of the face sheets under applied loads.
The core cells should be small enough to prevent inter-cell buckling of the face sheets under design
loads.
The core shall have sufficient compressive strength to prevent crushing due to applied loads acting
normal to the face sheets or by compressive stresses produced by flexure.
The sandwich structure should have sufficient flexural and shear rigidities to prevent excessive
deflections under applied loads.
Sandwich materials (face sheet, core and adhesive) should maintain the structural integrity during in
service environments.

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4. SUMMARY
in last couple of decades. Advanced resin
Composite materials technology has made tremendous str1des concepts
and new design have been developed. Besides
S stems fhbers, manufacturing technology,materials has been extended to a number of fields such as
espe, the applications of composite
Sporting goods, civil engineering. army tanks, ships. strengthening of structures against earthquake
composite materials technology in this
damge, etc. It is not possible to cover in details all aspects ofhere
tutorial. Some basic knowledge of the technology is provided to familiarize people who may be
involved in repair technology.

5. REFERENCES
[) Ramkumar R LL Bhatia N. M. Labor J. D and Wilkes J. S, Handbook: An Prepared Engineering
Compendium on the Manufacture and Repair of Fiber-Reinforced Composites, for
Department of Transportation FAA Technical Certer. Atantic City International Airport, New
Jersey, USA.

2) Jones R. M, "Mechanics of CompositeMaterials", Taylor and Francis Inc. July 1998.

$) Design Handbook for Honeycomb Sandwich Suructures Hexcel Corporation, 1967.

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