MODEL TEST PANEL FOR PROCESSING AND CHARACTERIZATION STUDIES OF HONEYCOMB COMPOSITE STRUCTURES

A model test panel was designed to investigate, at a laboratory scale, the core crush problem in honeycomb laminate sandwich processing. The reliability of the results generated from this model test panel was c onfirmed by comparing them to the data from a large test panel. The re sults were then explained in terms of core crush mechanisms and inform ation obtained from other analytical methods, such as the permeation t est, internal core pressure measurement, DSC and TGA. Additionally, th is model test panel was successfully utilized in investigating the eff ects of autoclave pressure, core thickness, adhesives, and layup metho ds on core crush. Therefore, this model test panel can be considered a useful tool for generating correlations between material properties, processing conditions, and appearance in the honeycomb composite struc tures. Moreover a dimensionless parameter the Honeycomb Core Crush Num ber (HCCN), was proposed and used extensively in this study for the pu rpose of quantitatively evaluating the core crush problem.