Contribution of adhesive-reinforced interface on the performance of light-weight sustainable sandwich composites

Sandwich constructions are widely used in numerous sectors such as aerospace, marine, architectural, and transportation industry acknowledging their excellent light-weight, exceptional corrosion characteristics, and rapid installation capabilities. The combination of the face-sheet and core should be profound so the sandwich structure's functionality is maintained over its life-span and guarantee structural integrity. The interfacial adhesion between the core and face-sheets plays a vital role to ensure structural integrity. The adhesion is primarily responsible for load transfer between the face-sheets and core and its failure results in severe degradation of the sandwich structure's functionality. Therefore, this study investigates the significance of adhesive layer application at the skin-core interface while manufacturing Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic/End-Grain Balsawood sandwich composites and its impact on the composite's mechanical performance. Interface adhesive application demonstrated overall improved mechanical behavior under quasi-static flexural loading; which essentially accounts for superior interfacial skin-core bonding. The technique enhances structural performance without a considerable density variant. Numerical results agreed well with the experimental findings and aided in further understanding of the associated damage mechanisms. Sandwich composite's flexural damage mechanisms were essentially the same irrespective of the presence of reinforced interfacial bond; however; the improved interfacial bond resulted in higher load capacity and reduced skin-core debonding.