Flexural fatigue behavior and life prediction of web reinforced GFRP-balsa sandwich beams

This paper investigated static and fatigue bending behavior of sandwich beams using glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) as skins and webs while balsa wood as core The failure modes, S-N curves, load-deflection behavior and stiffness degradation were obtained and compared The results showed that the fatigue failure modes of web reinforced sandwich beams varied with the web setting and load grade The web setting changed the failure mechanism and the materials were utilized in varying degrees in different specimens Fatigue life model based on damage modulus was proposed and proved appropriate to predict the fatigue damage and ultimate life.