An experimental study on the strength of aluminum honeycomb sandwich joints under pull-out loading

Abstract

This paper describes an experimental study on the failure of aluminum sandwich joints. Three types of joints with an insert and another two types of potted joints without an insert are investigated under pull-out loading. All the tested specimens commonly showed core shear buckling as the first failure, and then core crushing, and plastic deformation of the upper and lower faces occurred in consecutive order. Although the final failure modes at the maximum load are slightly different, the installation depth of the insert joint and the application of a dimple washer in the potted joint do not cause a remarkable difference in the failure loads. However, the failure loads changed, depending on the face thickness. The upper face thickness in particular was proven to be an important factor in determining the load carrying capability of the joint. ? 2012 American Scientific Publishers. All rights reserved.