Flexural and dynamic characterization of carbon/basalt hybrid laminated composite sandwich plates with PET foam core: A numerical and experimental approach

The flexural and dynamic responses of the carbon/basalt hybrid reinforced composite laminated face layers and PET foam core-based sandwich plates (SP) through numerical and experimental techniques are presented in the current research work. The uniqueness lies in the hybridization of carbon and basalt fibre-based laminated composite structures in conjunction with a PET foam core for sandwich plates, aiming for an optimal balance of high strength, environmental benefits, and lightweight properties. The finite element (FE) software ABAQUS is employed for the free vibration analysis of sandwich plates, employing eight-noded three-dimensional (C3D8R) elements, each with three degrees of freedom (DOFs) at each node. The engineering constants of the carbon/ basalt hybrid reinforced composite laminated face layers and PET foam core layer are derived from uniaxial tensile and compression tests respectively and used as input in ABAQUS. Subsequently, a set of experimental modal analysis (EMA) is performed using the roving impact hammer method to capture the natural frequencies (NFs) of the sandwich plates with similar material and geometrical properties used for the free vibration analysis in the ABAQUS platform. The obtained natural frequencies from the numerical simulation and EMA are compared and found to be highly consistences. Also, the flexural responses of different sandwich plates are analyzed through the three-point bending (TPB) test. Subsequently, the effect of geometrical parameters on the natural frequencies of the sandwich plates is examined under various boundary conditions. One notable candidate that promises to change the field of structural engineering and lead to more resilient and efficient designs is the sandwich plate with PET foam core and carbon-basalt reinforced laminated face layers. The detailed evaluation of flexural and vibration behaviours offers insights for optimized design and a better understanding of hybrid composite materials, particularly for lightweight structures in automotive and aerospace applications.