Failure behavior of sandwich honeycomb composite beam containing crack at the skin

Skin crack defects can develop in sandwich honeycomb composite structures during service life due to static and impact loads. In this study, the fracture behavior of sandwich honeycomb composite (SHC) beams containing crack at the skin was investigated experimentally and numerically under four-point loading. Three different arrangements of unidirectional (UD) carbon fiber composite and the triaxially woven (TW) fabric were considered for the skins. The presence of a 10 mm crack at mid-span of the top skin, mid-span of the bottom skin, and mid-way between load and support of the top skin, respectively, were considered. Failure load equations of the load initiating the skin crack extension were analytically derived and then numerically developed using the J-integral approach. The crack extension failure mode dominated all cracked specimens except those with low-stiffness skin which were controlled by the compressive skin debonding and core shear failures.