Sandwich panel

About: Sandwich panel is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 4665 publications have been published within this topic receiving 49812 citations.

End gaps of filled honeycomb

Abstract: A sandwich panel includes a honeycomb core of a plurality of cells. A first skin is adhered to a first surface of the honeycomb core with an adhesive. A second skin is adhered to a second surface of the honeycomb core with the adhesive. The plurality of cells extend longitudinally between the first and second skins. The first and second skins adhere to the honeycomb core to form a sandwich panel having a surface area of at least 2.25 square feet. A foam fill is disposed within the cells of the honeycomb core. The foam fill and the honeycomb core define a first gap region proximate to the first skin and a second gap region proximate to the second skin.

Method and apparatus for securing a thermoplastic insert within a sandwich panel

Abstract: A method is provided for securing a thermoplastic insert between first and second skin sheets of a sandwich panel using an installation tool to rotate the insert about a central axis. One of the installation tool and insert are provided with a male connection feature and the other is provided with a female connection feature such that the installation tool and insert are axially movable toward and away from each other to engage the male and female connection features without requiring relative rotation. The male and female connection features include mating surfaces offset from the central axis to transmit torque between the installation tool and insert. The insert is magnetically attracted to the installation tool by providing one of the installation tool and insert with a magnet and the other with a magnetic material to be attracted by the magnet. The installation tool and insert are then rotated while force is applied in order to drive the insert into the sandwich panel and to frictionally generate heat to friction weld the insert to the sandwich panel.

Sandwich panel design and performance optimization based on triply periodic minimal surfaces

Abstract: Sandwich panel is a promising engineering structure, attracting more and more research attention. Most of current sandwich panels are constructed with plane skins and lattice cores via traditional fabrication processes. In this work, the skin faces of sandwich panels are designed by the freeform T-spline surfaces. The triply periodic minimal surface (TPMS) structures can be accurately generated as porous internal cores. In order to evaluate the performances of TPMS units, a cross-section analysis framework is developed. Based on that, an improved particle swarm optimization (IPSO) algorithm is discussed to seek optimal parameters. Moreover, considering the multifunctional requirements of actual applications, a constrained improved particle swarm optimization (CIPSO) algorithm is introduced to acquire both ideal mechanical and structural performances. Eventually, the designed sandwich panels can be fabricated by the state-of-the-art additive manufacturing technology. Experimental results validate the effectiveness of the presented design method and performance optimization algorithms.