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Experimental investigation of stiffness characteristics of Tee joints of

Aluminum Honeycomb core sandwich panels with different edging
configurations

Conference Paper · February 2012

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 International Conference on Applications and Design in Mechanical Engineering 2012 (ICADME 2012)
27-28 February 2012, Penang, Malaysia.

Experimental investigation of stiffness

characteristics of Tee joints of Aluminum
Honeycomb core sandwich panels with
different edging configurations
1
S. Rajkumar
Dept. of Mech. Eng.g,
Chettinad College of Engineering and Technology,
Karur - 639114, India
E-mai:ccetraj@gmail.com
2
D. Ravindran
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
National Engineering College, Kovilpatti, India
E-mai : rmkv1@rediffmail.com
3
K. Arul Raj
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Einstein College of Engineering, Tirunelveli, India
E-mai : pkarulraj@yahoo.co.uk
4
K. Pramod Shetty
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
PES Institute of Technology, Bangalore, India
E-mai: kpramodshetty@gmail.com

Abstract - Requirement of light weight materials in aircraft, naval
and other applications has necessitated wide spread use of honey
comb sandwich panels because of its high strength to weight
ratio, high bending stiffness, fire retardant resistance, insulation
properties and sound attenuation properties. Aluminum
honeycomb is used as core material for sandwich panels: floors,
roofs, doors, partitions, working surfaces for automatic machines
and for all products which require high degree of flatness and
optimal stiffness-to-weight-ratio. These panels have thickness
ranging from 3 to 300 mm with cell sizes ranging from 6 to 25
mm, resulting in core density ranging from 20 to 80 kg/m3. In all
these applications, extensive joining is required so that the panels
can be fabricated to complex shapes. In this paper, various
edging and configuration details that have been investigated to
secure Tee joints with adequate soundness through adhesive
joining methods are presented. The stiffness characteristics and
shear strengths of the joints have been determined
experimentally. The configuration of each of the Tee joint is
discussed and best combinations of edging and configuration are
recommended for successful fabrication of complex assemblies
with Aluminum honeycomb core sandwich panels.
Keywords: Sandwich panel, Honeycomb core, edging, Tee
joint, Stiffness, shear strength, Resin, bonding, adhesive.
I. INTRODUCTION
Sandwich structures consist of a lightweight core material
which is covered by face sheets on both sides. Although these
structures have a low weight, they have high flexural stiffness
and buckling strength. Hence, sandwich structures are an
essential part of modern lightweight construction. Resin
impregnated woven fabrics or other carrier materials (so-
called prepregs) can be used as face sheets. Core materials
include rigid polyurethane foams, honeycombs, nap cores, and
corrugated thermo-plastic cores. The basic properties of
sandwiches, like flame retardance, mechanical properties, and
surface quality, are adjusted by selecting appropriate face and
core materials according to the desired application. In recent
times, sandwich structures have been widely used in load-
bearing structures due to their high specific stiffness and high
specific strength (1, 2). Honeycomb sandwich structure
possesses high specific rigidity and it can reduce vibrations,
isolate sound, maintain temperature, retard fire, besides
possessing extremely low density. Therefore, its application
is significant in space, automobile, marine and packaging
industries. A typical honeycomb structure consists (Figure 1
and Figure 2) of two high strength thin sheets called face
sheets sandwiching a soft, light and relatively thicker layer
termed as core which ensures the two skins to work together.
The honeycomb core is manufactured from a single sheet of
Aluminum by successive in-line cutting, bending, folding and
gluing [3]. This allows for continuous production resulting in
high speed and low cost of production. Furthermore,
production line can be extended to a continuous sandwich
panel production by adding a skin bonding step.
 Secondary processing of sandwich panels like cutting,
forming and jointing have been dealt with extensively in the
literature [4]. In this paper, adhesive joining technique to
secure butt joints with different edging and configuration
details will be investigated,

II. GEOMETRIC AND MECHANICAL Figure 1 : Schematic of Al hexagonal Figure 2 : Geometric details of Al
CHARACTERESTICS OF AL HEXAGONAL CORE core sandwich panel Hexagonal core sandwich panel
SANDWICH PANELS TABLE 2: Chemical composition and mechanical properties of Al 3003
Sandwich panels made of Aluminum hexagonal core with
Aluminum face sheets are commercially available in cell sizes
Chemical composition in E Poisson’s Density
ranging from 6.25 to 25 mm and thickness ranging from 10 to weight % N/ mm2 Kg/ m3
ratio,
50 mm. In this work, sandwich panel with 20 mm thickness
and core cell size of 12.5 mm was obtained for joint trials with
Mn - 1.2; Fe - 0.70
various configurations. The different geometrical Si - 0.60; Cu – 0.1 69 x 103 0.33 2600
characteristics of the sandwich panel such as Face thickness, Zr – 0.1; Al - Bal
core height, cell size and membrane thickness of the
hexagonal core sheet are indicated in Table 1.
TABLE 3: Density of Al Honeycomb core sandwich panel

Densit Densit
Specime Specimen Volu
Mass y Kg/ y
n dimension me Density
Kg m3 Kg/ m3
designat s m3 Kg/ m3
x 10-3 (avg.) (theore
ion mm x 10-5
tical)

TABLE 1: Geometrical characteristics of Al / Al honeycomb sandwich panel 50.3x50.4

DEN 1 5.07 15.108 298.0
x 20.0
Face Core Sandwich Cell Membrane 50.1x50.0
DEN 2 5.01 15.100 301.4 300.1 303.7
thickness (t) height (c) thickness (d), size (D) thickness x 20.0
mm mm mm mm (m) mm 50.2x50.0
DEN 3 5.02 15.110 300.9
0.9 17.8 19.3 12.5 0.065 x 20.0
1.1 17.1 19.4 12.6 0.067
1.0 18.0 19.9 12.4 0.066 The mechanical properties of the epoxy resin used for
1.1 17.9 20.2 12.4 0.064
0.9 17.7 19.7 12.6 0.063
joining the face sheet and the honeycomb core are given in
Table 4.
1.0 17.7 19.70 12.5 0.065
(avg.) (avg.) (avg.) (avg.) (avg.)
TABLE 4: Mechanical properties of Epoxy resin used for joining face sheet
and Al honeycomb core [6]
The chemical composition, density and elastic constants of
Al 3003 sheet are indicated in Table 2. The density of the Property Value Unit
sandwich panel determined as per ASTM C 271 is indicated in
Density 1100 Kg/m3
Table 3. The density of the core can also be theoretically
computed using the expression as given below [5]: Tensile strength 77.2 MPa

Tensile modulus 3.3 GPa

Elongation at break 4.2 %

Flexural modulus 3.2 GPa

Flexural strength 122 MPa

The density of the sandwich panel can then be computed
as per the following equation:
SW = Al ( 2t / d ) + c ( c / d ) = 303.7 Kg / m3
The density of the sandwich panel computed as above is
indicated in Table 3. It can be seen from Table 3 that the
density of sandwich panel theoretically computed compares
well with that of experimentally determined value.
III. EDGING AND JOINING PROCEDURE FOR
SECURING SOUND BUTT JOINTS
It may well be noted that joining of sandwich panels is
quite cumbersome due to the heterogeneous nature of the
panel wherein hexagonal Al core is embedded between two
face sheets. The joint configuration especially for Tee joint
should be conceived such that perfect flatness of the panel
after joining and also perpendicularity of the joint should be
ensured. Further, the adhesive used for joining should possess
excellent wetting characteristics and must be able to quickly
cure to attain full strength. Keeping the above foregoing
points, three commercially available thermo-set type resins,
namely viz, AW 106 (Araldite with hardener HV953U),
Epoxy 951 and AV 138 (Araldite with hardener HV908) were
selected as candidate adhesive resins for joining Al
honeycomb core Sandwich panels. These resins require
careful handling both before and after applying them on the
surface to be bonded. Direct shear tests were carried out to
determine the shear strength of the cured resins and are
indicated in Table 5.
supporting device. This set up is then exposed to the normal
atmosphere for 4 to 5 hours. Later the clamps are removed and
the joined specimens are heated in the oven at a temperature
of 80 C for one hour. The joint details and the macro
photograph of the joint are given in Figures 3. The macro-
section of the joint and magnified region of the joint are
indicated in Figures 4 and 5.

Table 5: Results of direct shear test on resins

Figure 3: Schematic of Tee joint – Configuration G

B. Configuration “H”
Figure 4: Macro photograph of Butt Figure 5: Exploded views at joint In this configuration, the faying face of the vertical panel
joint – Configuration G location - Configuration G is edged with Aluminum insert in the form of C – channel.
The insert is bonded to the sandwich panel with after filling
Bond Load at Shear
Average with small pieces of Polyurethane foam impregnated with
Specimen shear resin AV 138. The two faying faces of the panels are placed
area failure strength
No. Strength
(mm2) (kN) (MPa) in a manner such that they form an inverted Tee shape. Once
(MPa)
the resin is applied the two panels are joined together and the
AW 106 - 1 1028 7.33 7.13 joint is tightened using a clamp as a supporting device. This
set up is then exposed to the normal atmosphere for 4 to 5
AW 106 - 2 1032 7.66 7.42 7.34 hours. Later the clamps are removed and the joined specimens
AW 106 - 3 1052 7.86 7.47 are heated in the oven at a temperature of 80 C for one hour.
The joint details and the macro photograph of the joint are
AV 138 - 1 1040 8.70 8.37 given in Figures 6. The macro-section of the joint and
AV 138 - 2 769.6 6.73 8.74 8.48 magnified region of the joint are indicated in Figures 7 and 8.
AV 138 - 2 696.6 5.81 8.34

951 - 1 960 2.07 2.16

951 – 2 960 2.07 2.16 1.64

951 - 3 960 0.57 0.59

From Table 5, it is clear that the resin AW 138 has the

highest shear strength and the same has been used in the Tee
joints. For making Tee joints, three configurations were tried
and the details are indicated below:

A. Configuration “G”
In this configuration, the two faying faces of the panels
placed in a manner such that they form an inverted Tee shape.
The faying face of the vertical panel is filled with small pieces Figure 6: Schematic of Tee joint – Configuration H
of Polyurethane foam impregnated with resin AV 138. Once
the resin is applied at the bonding locations the two panels are
joined together and the joint is tightened using a clamp as a
 Figure 13: Schematic of cantilever
Figure 12 : Bend test fixture
loading
C. Configuration “I”
In this configuration, the faying faces of the two horizontal
panels are edged with Aluminum insert in the form of C –
channel. The insert is bonded to the sandwich panel with after
filling with small pieces of Polyurethane foam impregnated
with resin AV 138. The vertical panel is inserted between the
horizontal panels are placed in a manner such that they form
an inverted Tee shape. Once the resin is applied the two
panels are joined together and the joint is tightened using a
clamp as a supporting device. This set up is then exposed to
the normal atmosphere for 4 to 5 hours. Later the clamps are
removed and the joined specimens are heated in the oven at a
temperature of 80 C for one hour. The joint details and the
macro photograph of the joint are given in Figures 9. The
macro-section of the joint and magnified region of the joint
are indicated in Figures 10 and 11.
Figure 7: Macro photograph of Tee Figure 8: Exploded views at joint
joint – Configuration H location - Configuration H
IV. CANTILEVER TYPE BEND TESTING OF TEE
JOINTS
Cantilever type bend testing was carried out on Tee joints with
different configurations using Digital Flexural Test system. A
fixture for carrying out the bend test was designed and
fabricated. The test fixture and schematic of the loading
details are indicated in Figures 12 and 13.
The movable carriage of the machine is brought on the
loading bar and the load is applied gradually at a displacement
rate of 2 mm/min. Plot of load versus deflection is recorded.
From the plot, stiffness is calculated for each of the
configuration and these are indicated in Table 6.
Table 6: Stiffness of Al honeycomb core sandwich panel

Specifications Dimensions
Span length 50 mm
Face sheet thickness 0.9 mm
Beam width 40.0 mm
Core height 17.6 mm

P/ (N/mm)
Specimen Number P/ (N/mm)
average
G-1 77
G-2 81 79
Figure 10: Macro photograph of Butt Figure 11: Exploded views at joint
joint - Configuration I location - Configuration I G-3 79
H-1 69
H-2 63 65
H-3 63
I-1 132
I-2 133 131
I-3 129
It can be seen from Table 6 that the stiffness for the Tee
joint with configuration „I‟ is much higher than that of the
other two configurations. This may be due to the fact that the
resin in configuration „G‟ and „H‟ is in direct transverse shear
whereas in the case of configuration „I‟, the resin is indicates
Figure 9 : Schematic of Tee joint – Configuration I that if the resin is not in direct shear and the panel takes the
shear load. Further, the configurations „G‟ and „H‟ lead to
corner fillets which can shear off easily and result in lower
stiffness. Hence, it is recommended that for Tee joints,
configuration „I‟ is selected.
 V. CONCLUSIONS
Edging and configuration details to be adopted for Tee
joints in Aluminum hexagonal core sandwich panels have
been investigated so as to achieve maximum stiffness. It is
found that the configuration of the joint with vertical panel
inserted between two horizontal panels to form Tee shape
gives higher stiffness.

REFERENCES
[1]. Hartsock, J. A. (1969). Design of Urethane Foam Sandwich Structures,
Journal of Cellular Plastics, 5:page 188 – 193
[2]. Swanson, S. R. and Kim, J. (2002). Optimization of Sandwich Beams
for Concentrated Loads, Journal of Sandwich Structures and Materials,
4: 273–293
[3]. Pflug J. & Leuven K.U, “Faltwabe und Verfahren zu deren
Herstellung”, PCT Patent EP96/03121, German patent DE 197 16 637,
1996 - 1997
[4]. http://www.nida-core.com/english/nidaprod_honey info_working.htm
[5]. Jeom Kee Paika,*, Anil K. Thayamballib and Gyu Sung Kima, “The
strength characteristics of aluminum honeycomb sandwich panels”,
Thin-Walled Structures, Vol. 35 (1999) 205–231

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