Mechanical performance of through-thickness tufted sandwich structures

Abstract

This paper presents a study about the influence of through-thickness tufted fibres on compression and bending properties of sandwich structures. The tufting process aims to avoid the delamination between the skin and core in order to improve the performance of sandwich structures, increase the interlaminar strength and damage tolerance of sandwich structures. To evaluate the effect of tufting in sandwich structures, an experimental study was developed which included edgewise compression and 3-P bending tests of tufted and nontufted sandwich panels made of carbon/epoxy and E-glass/epoxy face sheets, PVC and PUR foam cores and E-glass and aramid through-thickness fibres with different tufting densities.Conclusions about the efficiency of the insertion of through-thickness fibres on compression and bending properties are drawn.

Polyester Pinning Effect on Flexural and Vibrational Characteristics of Foam Filled Honeycomb Sandwich Panels

“…Due to the strong interface bonding between the face sheet and core through polyester pins, the applied load was transferred to the lower face sheet via polyester pins and foam filled honeycomb core. For both PFHS specimens the damage is observed only in the core which is attributed to the tough bridging between faces through the incorporated through thickness reinforcement pins (Henao et al 2010) and no visual damage is perceived in the face sheets as shown in Figure 6d. The failure criterion is that the state of stress in polyester pins in the core reaches the maximum and subsequently initiates cracking of pins.…”

Influence of the tufting yarns on formability of tufted 3-Dimensional composite reinforcement

“…In conventional stitching technologies, a dual-threading system makes the seam by forming loops and knots which can considerably weaken the mechanical performances. Tufting technology applies a formation of loops with a loose and almost tension-free introduction of the threading system which can reduce the stitching effect on the in-plane properties [49][50][51]. Compared to the conventional stitching, tufting is much simpler as it does not require the use of a second thread and lock the threads [49].…”

“…Tufting technology applies a formation of loops with a loose and almost tension-free introduction of the threading system which can reduce the stitching effect on the in-plane properties [49][50][51]. Compared to the conventional stitching, tufting is much simpler as it does not require the use of a second thread and lock the threads [49]. To realize this process, an equipment to carry out automatically the tufting process was developed.…”

“…Moreover, the influence of through-thickness fibres on the preforming defects is not described. In the paper [47][48][49] concerning the 3D reinforcements performed by tufting technology, the analyses of the influence of through-thickness fibres are entirely carried out during the multilayered E-glass plain weave forming.…”

Improving the Understanding of Tufted Energy Absorbing Sandwich Structures

“…Over the past decade, several researchers have explored and demonstrated the advantages of tufting in both monolithic and sandwich structures under a range of design cases [13][14][15][16]. More recently, a study of particular interest by Blok et al [17] demonstrated the potential of tufts to improve the crashworthiness of sandwich structures under edgewise loading.…”