| Sandwich structures are used in a wide variety of structural applications due to their relative advantages over other conventional structural materials in terms of improved stability, weight savings, and ease of manufacture and repair. Foreign object impact damage in sandwich composites can result in localized damage to the facings, core, and core-facing interface. Such damage may result in drastic reductions in composite strength, elastic moduli, and durability and damage tolerance characteristics. In this study, physically-motivated numerical models have been developed for predicting the residual strength of impact-damaged sandwich composites comprised of woven-fabric graphite-epoxy facesheets and Nomex honeycomb cores subjected to compression-after-impact loading. Results from non-destructive inspection and destructive sectioning of damaged sandwich panels were used to establish initial conditions for damage (residual facesheet indentation, core crush dimension, etc.) in the numerical analysis. Honeycomb core crush test results were used to establish the nonlinear constitutive behavior for the Nomex core. The influence of initial facesheet property degradation and progressive loss of facesheet structural integrity on the residual strength of impact-damaged sandwich panels was examined. The influence of damage of various types and sizes, specimen geometry, support boundary conditions, and variable material properties on the estimated residual strength is discussed. Facesheet strains from material and geometric nonlinear finite element analyses correlated relatively well with experimentally determined values. Moreover, numerical predictions of residual strength are consistent with experimental observations.; Using a methodology similar to that presented in this work, it may be possible to develop robust residual strength estimates for complex sandwich composite structural components with varying levels of in-service damage. Such studies may facilitate sandwich panel design by providing insight into relationships between material configuration and damage progression that lead to improved damage tolerance characteristics. |
