Numerical investigation of open-hole damaged Nomex™ honeycomb panel under three-point bending load

In the present study, a numerical investigation of three-point bending test of the open-hole damaged sandwich structures with Nomex TM honeycomb core and aluminium alloy skins is carried out. In order to evaluate the degradation of the mechanical properties of these damaged structures, a finite element model is realized and tested using Abaqus/Explicit. To validate the accuracy of the numerical model, the obtained numerical results of the intact panels are calibrated with the experimental results. The load-displacement curves of the damaged structures showed a significant decrease of the peak force and the flexural elastic modulus compared to the intact ones. The study indicated that the degradation level of these mechanical parameters is in a direct relationship with the damage size. In addition, the energy absorption of the damaged panels is calculated and compared to the intact one.