STRUCTURAL CHARACTERIZATION OF POLYMER BASED HONEYCOMB SANDWICH STRUCTURE MANUFACTURED THROUGH ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING

Abstract

Honeycomb Sandwich structures are critical components in aviation industry owing to its impressive mechanical properties including strength-to-weight ratio, flexural rigidity etc. With the recent advancement in rapid prototyping, traditional manufacturing techniques for honeycomb manufacturing have limited the possibilities for innovative design. The advent of Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM), an AM technique, has expanded the design possibilities and holds the potential to improve the functionality of sandwich panels. In the outlined study, polymer (PLA) based honeycomb sandwich structures manufactured with FDM were subjected to variations in their geometrical features; cell size, wall thickness, and core height. These variations were then evaluated for two major mechanical properties: flatwise compressive strength and flexural stiffness of the structure. The study employed a Design of Experiment based on RSMs Central Composite Design. This research optimized FDM process parameters from existing literature to fabricate sandwich structure specimens. Mechanical properties were evaluated using ASTM C365 and C393 standards, and statistical models were developed to relate input variables to responses. The findings showed that cell size and wall thickness significantly impacted compressive strength, while core height had a greater influence on flexural rigidity. Stress-strain and load-deflection curves consistent with literature were obtained. This study demonstrates the importance of optimizing FDM parameters and geometric variables to minimize weight while maintaining structural integrity, contributing to the development of lightweight sandwich structures.