Evaluation of flexural properties of frp honeycomb core sandwich composites reinforced with cnt

A sandwich-structured composite is a special class of composite materials that is fabricated by attaching two thin but stiff skins to a lightweight but thick core. The core material is normally low strength material, but its higher thickness provides the sandwich composite with high bending stiffness with overall low density. Nowadays, sandwich structures with different face sheet and core materials are increasingly used in various applications. Sandwich structures have many advantages, including high stiffness-to-weight and strength-to weight ratios, high damping capacities, good thermal insulation properties, excellent water and vapor barrier performance, good corrosion resistance, and low cost. To characterize the flexural properties of the sandwich composites, a series of 3-point bending tests were conducted, in accordance with the ASTM D7264 standard on the sandwich panel with different percentage of CNT. The variation of CNT percentage will affects the bending properties of the sandwich beam in the three point bending tests. A holistic approach will be conceived to identify the applicability of sandwich construction, allowable core bending strength. Increasing the percentage of CNT in FRP honeycomb sandwich composites increases the strength of the structure to certain extant. However addition of CNT behind 2% decreases the strength.