A Review of Sandwich Composite Structures with 3D Printed Honeycomb Cores

Abstract

Sandwich structures have picked up ubiquity in engineering applications due to its lightweight nature, high bending stiffness, high fatigue resistance and ability to absorb energy. It is difficult to retain the lightweight execution of a sandwich construction whereas moreover getting great bending stiffness and strength. The mechanical characteristics of Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) and Polylactic Acid (PLA) produced via additive manufacturing are investigated in this article. The most often used materials for cores are ABS and PLA. ABS appears to have more flexural strength and elongation before failure than PLA. The behaviour of cores is also examined. The bending stiffness was discovered to be enhanced by the re-entrant core which is the core that exhibits negative Poisson’s ratio or auxetic behaviour. The bending and fatigue performance of sandwich structures is controlled by the core densities, core designs, component materials, face sheet thickness, and face sheet stacking sequence. Furthermore, the findings revealed that finite element analysis may be utilized to investigate the mechanical characteristics of sandwich constructions with honeycomb cores. The discoveries presented here open the path for the development of a new class of sandwich structures, greatly expanding their design space and potential future applications.