Fabrication and mechanical behaviors of corrugated lattice truss composite sandwich panels

To get a strong, stiff and weight-efficient structure, a novel carbon fiber reinforced composite (CFRC) lattice truss sandwich panel (LTSP) was designed and fabricated. The lattice core is made up of orthogonal corrugated lattice trusses (CLTs) and manufactured by mould pressing method. Compression and shearing experiments were carried out to reveal the strength and failure modes of the structure. A coupled compression-shear failure mode was observed in compression and the compression strength of the lattice truss structure is over 13 MPa. In shearing, the enlarged area of the node enhances the shear strength to 3.4 MPa. Structural models were built to evaluate the strength in compression and shearing. Failure maps were supplied to instruct optimal design of the CFRC LTSP. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.