Finite element analysis of plastic hollow core sandwich composites

Applications of sandwich composites are increasing as they continue to develop. The reason for the growth in development and the rising demand for sandwich composites in numerous industries is due to its ability to achieve high stiffness and strength, while simultaneously being lightweight in comparison to traditional materials. 3D printed plastic hollow core sandwich composites were focused on in this study where a bioplastic, Polylactic Acid (PLA), was compared to a conventional plastic, Polypropylene (PP). The study investigated the effects of varying core and face sheet parameters on the mechanical properties of 3D printed plastic core sandwich composites to obtain the optimum sandwich composite structure. A finite element model was developed in ANSYS Workbench to conduct the study. Numerical results were compared with experimental results, and both results revealed that the mechanical properties of sandwich composite structures are certainly influenced by the core and face sheet parameters. An optimum sandwich composite structure cannot be defined for a general case, as it depends on the application for which it is being designed. Hence, different optimum structures were determined for different desired mechanical properties.