Experimental Characterization of an Integrated Sandwich Composite Using 3D Woven Fabrics as the Core Material

Abstract

In this article, an integrated sandwich composite adopting 3D woven fabrics as the core material was experimentally characterized for its effective elastic modulus as well as its capacity of receiving impact energy. Featured by its porous core for leak detection and high strength to weight ratio, the integrated sandwich composite was an ideal candidate to be fabricated into a large part to store volatile chemical liquids or gas. To characterize the integrated sandwich composite for such applications, a series of unidirectional tensile tests as well as impact experiments were conducted for the sandwich composite fabricated using two different types of reinforced lamina as the face-sheets.