Failure Behavior of Corrugated Core Panel Under Out-Of-Plane Loading

Abstract

The aim of this study is to investigate the failure behaviour of a panel with a novel corrugated core design under out-of-plane loading conditions. AS4/8552 prepreg system was used for both facesheet and core material and two different core designs are compared. Three-point bending tests were performed and acoustic emission monitoring technique was used to investigate the failure modes. It was observed that first matrix failure occurred at the corner sections of the panels and delamination initiated at these regions, followed by fibre failure at the ribs and facesheet. Acoustic emission signal clustering around certain frequencies was matched to various failure modes in order to provide an insight for further research on structural health monitoring by acoustic emission.