CORE MOVEMENT DURING PROCESSING OF SANDWICH PANELS.

Core movement, also known as core crush, plagues sandwich panel fabrication as it renders the part unfit for service and must be scrapped. Much of the current research on this matter has focused on material factors, such as improving frictional resistance by tailoring fiber architecture and resin systems. However, a complete understanding of the problem from a processing perspective is still lacking. It is uncertain how processing conditions affect core movement. In particular, the manner in which core movement progresses is not well documented. As a result, methods for mitigating core movement are largely empirically based. The focus of this paper is to better understand the factors influencing core movement during processing of sandwich panels. This paper evaluates the role parameters such as temperature and pressure play in dictating core movement. Moreover, specific ply movement is investigated, providing a better understanding of the mechanics of the problem. Experiments are conducted using a novel approach wherein core movement is measured and filmed in-situ within an autoclave using embedded sensors and an autoclavable camera. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]