Author(s)

J.J. Carruthers, M.S. Found and A.M. Robinson

Abstract

The use of structural composites for crashworthy applications has been investigated for foam-cored sandwich panels with integral GRP tubes and frusta. The panels were tested under both quasi-static flatwise and edgewise compression and evaluated in terms of their energy absorption properties and failure mechanisms. Under flatwise compression, panels with inserts which failed by stable progressive brittle fracture exhibited the best specific energy absorptions and compared favourably with the performance of aluminium honeycomb sandwich panels. Under edgewise compression, panels with inserts which prevented separation of the face plates offered the most predictable and repeatable performance. 'Present addres

Keywords