Sandwich-structured composite

This picture shows composite sandwich panels made from continuous fiber-reinforced thermoplastic UD tape
This picture shows composite sandwich panels made from continuous fiber-reinforced thermoplastic UD tape
Composite sandwich structure panel used for testing at NASA

In materials science, a sandwich-structured composite is a special class of composite material that is fabricated by attaching two thin-but-stiff skins to a lightweight-but-thick core. The core material is normally of low strength, but its greater thickness provides the sandwich composite with high bending stiffness with overall low density.

Open- and closed-cell-structured foams like polyethersulfone, polyvinylchloride, polyurethane, polyethylene, or polystyrene foams, balsa wood, syntactic foams, and honeycombs are commonly used core materials. Sometimes, the honeycomb structure is filled with other foams for added strength. Open- and closed-cell metal foams can also be used as core materials.

Laminates of glass- or carbon-fiber-reinforced thermoplastics or thermoset polymers (unsaturated polyesters, epoxies, etc.) are widely used as skin materials. Sheet metal is also used as skin material in some cases.

The core is bonded to the skins with an adhesive or, with metal components, by brazing.

Diagram of an assembled composite sandwich (A), and its constituent face sheets or skins (B) and honeycomb core (C) (alternately: foam core)
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