The team from the University of Utah and Georgia Tech will conduct an integrated analytical, manufacturing, and experimental investigation of the fundamental mechanical behavior of stitched sandwich composites with through-thickness reinforcement in their foam core. The proposed research program will enhance the knowledge and understanding of the mechanical and damage responses including creep and other time-dependent behavior. To that end, research is proposed in three major areas: Manufacturing: Development of non-normal stitching concepts for sandwich structures will be investigated under a variety of multi-axial loadings, including bi-axial and pure interlaminar shear. Stitching for enhanced compression behavior will be investigated by optimizing the characteristics of perforated stitched sandwich structures. Analytical and Computational: Multi-scale micromechanical and structural models will be developed to simulate the mechanical behavior of stitched sandwich composites with emphasis on both short-term and long-term time-dependent responses. Different finite-element structural modeling approaches, using shell, continuum, and cohesive fracture elements, will be used to simulate the material and structural responses including time-dependent and damage growth. Experimental: Standard and non-standard test procedures will be developed and performed to examine the mechanical behavior of stitched sandwich composites and structural components under combined mechanical and environmental conditions.
The proposed inter-university collaboration between the three PIs and their graduate and undergraduate students will ultimately promote and enhance the research and educational infrastructure at both sides. The composite education and research center CERC at Georgia Tech will be part of the proposed activity. Its students and other faculty will tremendously benefit from enhancing its capability in the area of sandwich composites. Undergraduate and graduate students from underrepresented groups will be part of this new research project. The authors are planning to host conference sessions and a summer workshop on using sandwich composites for practicing engineers in the areas of automotive, aerospace and civil infrastructure. The educational activity on sandwich composites, based on this research, will be integrated in two composite courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels. The web will be also used to produce an educational module for design of sandwich composites.
