A device referred to as a peel-stopper with the purpose of eliminating the risk of catastrophic skin debonding in sandwich structures in general, and high-speed ships in particular, has been developed. Two major advantages of the new peel-stopper are its simplicity of manufacture, and its lack of connections through the sandwich core. The latter is essential for good UNDEX performance. Two different versions were developed. Quasi-static mechanical tests were performed to verify the function of the peel-stopper, and the strength of the structure incorporating the peel-stopper. Regarding functionality, the peel-stoppers performed as expected. Regarding quasi-static strength, it was shown that the peel-stoppers could be made such that no structural strength reduction occurs. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
