An experimental investigation on low-velocity impact responses of sandwich panels with the changes of impact location and the wall partition angle of honeycomb core

This paper describes an experimental investigation on low-velocity impact responses and damage modes of sandwich composites due to the changes of impact loading location and wall partition angle of honeycomb core. The sandwich panels were composed of a glass/epoxy laminated facesheet and an aluminum honeycomb core. Square samples of 100mm by 100mm sides were subjected to a low-velocity impact load using an instrumented testing machine at three different energy levels. Impact parameters such as maximum force, time to maximum force, deflection at maximum force, and absorbed energy were evaluated and compared. Sandwich specimens were cut to analyze damage modes after impact. The experimental results showed that low-velocity impact responses and damage mechanism of sandwich panels were affected significantly by the changes of wall partition angle of honeycomb core, and the energy absorption capacity of sandwich panels with wall partition angle of 45o was improved by about 25%.