High Strength Wood-based Sandwich Panels Reinforced with Fiberglass and Foam

Abstract

Mechanical analysis is presented for new high-strength sandwich panels made from wood-based phenolic impregnated laminated paper assembled with an interlocking tri-axial ribbed core. Four different panel configurations were tested, including panels with fiberglass fabric bonded to both outside faces with self-expanding urethane foam used to fill the ribbed core. The mechanical behaviors of the sandwich panels were strength tested via flatwise compression, edgewise compression, and third-point load bending. Panels with fiberglass exhibited significantly increased strength and apparent MOE in edgewise compression and bending, but there were no noticeable effects in flatwise compression. The foam provided improved support that resisted both rib buckling and face buckling for both compression and bending tests. Post-failure observation indicated that core buckling dominated the failures for all configurations used. It is believed that using stiffer foam or optimizing the dimension of the core might further improve the mechanical performance of wood-based sandwich panels.

Development of a One-Step Process for Production of Foam Core Particleboards using Rigid Polyurethane Foam

“…The second critical step for the manufacturing of sandwich structures is the joining of prefabricated skins and the lightweight core layer. The main manufacturing methods (which are already in the market) are either a batch process, where the prefabricated layers are glued and assembled together, or a process where a foaming liquid, to form the core material, is injected between two prefabricated face layers (Allen 1969;Li et al 2014). The disadvantages of these processes are the lack of simultaneous production of all layers together and some restrictions regarding the production techniques.…”

Experimental Study of Static and Fatigue Behavior of CFRP-Balsa Sandwiches under Three-point Flexural Loading

“…Composite sandwich structures are complex structures with the following features: good specific mass properties (stiffness and strength), good thermal and sound insulation, good durability, good corrosion and fatigue resistance, easily repairable, and low water-absorption (Harris 2003;Li et al 2014). Balsa wood provides good shear strength; low acquisition cost; high fatigue resistance; ease of manufacturing, processing, and assembly; and superior performance in energy absorption (Vinson 1999).…”

Improved fatigue performance for wood-based structural panels using slot and tab construction

“…Forest Products Laboratory (FPL) is working to develop engineered structural materials made from wood-fiber-based composites that have enhanced performance for some engineered applications such as air pallet, tactical shelter, transportation, or building construction materials [13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20]. In an initial study, phenolic laminated paper was used for a tri-axial core configuration within a structural composite panel.…”