Rights statement: This is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Composite Structures. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Composite Structures, 235, 2020 DOI: 10.1016/j.compstruct.2019.111817
Accepted author manuscript, 725 KB, PDF document
Available under license: CC BY-NC-ND
Final published version
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
| Article number | 111817 |
|---|---|
| <mark>Journal publication date</mark> | 1/03/2020 |
| <mark>Journal</mark> | Composite Structures |
| Volume | 235 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Publication Status | Published |
| Early online date | 19/12/19 |
| <mark>Original language</mark> | English |
This paper presents a process for creating syntactic metal foam sandwich structures which, for the first time, manufactures both the syntactic foam core and metal face sheets in a single step. Unlike previous research, the face sheets are made from the same material, are integral with the sandwich structure and are relatively thick compared to the core. Via comparison with experimental measurements in 3-point bending, it is shown that accurate prediction of the elastic deformation of these sandwich structures necessitates FE-based modelling, but that the methodology is simple. A reliance on predictions from established analytical models, which have proven themselves accurate for foam sandwiches with thin face sheets, leads to significant over-estimations of the stiffness. Modelling, based on the FEA approach developed herein, shows that mass savings between 20 and 30% are achievable for these novel structures, produced using simple and low cost casting methods, but are dependent upon the deflection response required.