Failure analysis of hybrid sandwich structures with different cladding materials

The dynamic development of the automotive and aviation industry has resulted in the continuous improvement of sandwich structures.These structures are lightweight and strong due to the application of lightweight materials as their core.The structure finds particular application in automotive or aerospace vehicles, which are focused on minimizing the weight of the structure, which translates into operating costs.The use of sandwich structures carries risks due to cladding debonding.The present study is intended to analyze the failure mechanism of structures based on aluminum foam with three types of cladding: aluminum sheet, carbon fiber plate and linen fiber plate.The structures were subjected to three-point bending during which the ability to transfer mechanical stress was observed, as well as the failure mechanism resulting from failure of the adhesive bond, core or cladding.Studies conducted revealed a significant contribution from the porous core.The tests showed similar load transfer and mechanical energy absorption capacities for the analyzed samples.The flax composite exhibited the lowest capacity, where destruction occurred from approximately 800 N for the analyzed sample geometry.Despite similar loadcarrying capacity, different types of structural failure were recorded, such as delamination, cladding debonding and metal foam pore cracking detailed in the paper.