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Face/core debond-damaged sandwich panels exposed to non-uniform compression loads are studied. The panel geometry is rectangular with a centrally located circular debond. The study primarily includes experimental methods, but simple finite element calculations are also applied. The complexity of applying a controlled non-uniform compressive load to the test panels requires a strong focus on the development of a suitable testrig. This is done by the extensive use of product development methods. The experimental results based on full-scale testing of 10 GFRP/foam core panels with prefabricated debonds show a considerable strength reduction with increasing debond diameter, with failure mechanisms varying between fast debond propagation and wrinkling-introduced face compression failure for large and small debonds, respectively. Residual strength predictions are based on intact panel testing, and a comparison between a simple numerical model and the experimental results shows fair agreement.

A face/core debond in a sandwich structure may propagate in the interface or kink into either the face or core. It is found that certain modifications of the face/core interface region influence the kinking behavior, which is studied experimentally in the present paper. A sandwich double cantilever beam specimen loaded by uneven bending moments (DCB-UBM) allows for accurate measurements of the J integral as the crack propagates under large scale fibre bridging. By altering the mode-mixity of the loading, the crack path changes and deflects from the interface into the adjacent face or core. The transition points where the crack kinks are identified and the influence of four various interface design modifications on the propagation path and fracture resistance are investigated.

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Numerical simulations are used to design test geometries and loading histories that are suitable for probing the large-scale bridging effects of through-thickness reinforcement that is shearing at high strain rates. The bridging effects are represented by a cohesive law and tests are sought that will determine any rate dependence in its parameters. The end-notched flexure test is studied, because it allows easy application of time-dependent loading and has proven to be an information-rich test in the quasi-static case. However, dynamic conditions greatly complicate fracture behavior, with possible regimes of hammering and multiple cracking, which should be avoided when maximum information is sought. Information content is addressed by focusing on regimes within the full computed solution space where crack growth is approximately steady state and the information content of experiments can be most easily assessed. Numerical results show that the hypothetical rate dependence in the cohesive law causes strong and measurable changes in the regime of steady-state behavior, if the tests are properly selected to vary the crack sliding speed. The estimates of information content are conservative, because the information available from all possible tests of specimens designed by analysis of the steady-state regime will necessarily exceed the information deduced by analyzing the steady-state regime alone.

Various modifications of the face/core interface in foam core sandwich specimens are examined in a series of two papers. This paper constitutes part I and describes the finite element analysis of a sandwich test specimen, i.e. a DCB specimen loaded by uneven bending moments (DCB-UBM). Using this test almost any modemixity between pure mode I and mode II can be obtained. A cohesive zone model of the mixed mode fracture process involving large-scale bridging is developed. Results from the analysis are used in Part II, which describes methods and results of a series of experiments.

In the last couple of decades the use of sandwich structures has increased tremendously in applications where low weight is of importance e.g. ship structures, where sandwich panels are often built from fiber reinforced faces and foam cores. An important damage type in sandwich structures is separation of face and core (debonding). Debonds can arise as a result of defects from production when an area between face and core has not been primed sufficiently resulting in a lack of adhesion. In use, impact loading, e.g. due to collision with objects, can result in formation of a debond crack, followed by growth due to continued loading. With debonds present the structure might fail under loads significantly lower than those for an intact sandwich structure [1, 2]. A debond crack in a foam cored sandwich can propagate self similarly or kink away from the interface into either the face or core. Whether or not kinking occurs is governed by the stress state at the crack tip, e.g. described by the mode-mixity of the complex stress intensity factor and the properties of the face, core and adhesive [3]. The criticality of an existing crack can be highly dependent on the crack propagation path, since the fracture toughness of the face, core and interface are often very different. As the crack propagates in the interface or laminate the fibers in the face laminate can form a bridging zone behind the crack tip. This can increase the fracture toughness significantly since the bridging fibers provide closing tractions between the separated crack surfaces [4, 5]. The outline of a crack propagating under large scale bridging in a sandwich structure can be seen in Figure 1.

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