ASSESSMENT OF FLEXURAL STRENGTH OF HONEYCOMB CORE SANDWICH PANELS FOR LOWCOST HOUSING CONSTRUCTION

The design of sandwich structures are made by joining components containing kraft paper of hexagonal structure sandwiched between cement fiber board face sheets in such a manner, it perform its intended function by retaining its structural integrity, subjected to loads and environment. Sandwich structures, which has remarkable performances and characteristics concerning effective properties analysed to determine structural responses. The Flexural test conducted on sandwich panel’s found satisfactory results used for housing construction have much more than the minimum strength and stiffness necessary to meet the general requirements. The Present study deals with testing of sandwich beam panels, the core is firstly a Honeycomb Kraft paper of hexagonal structure with cement fiber board face sheet specimens in three point bending load. The load deflection characteristics, stress distribution patterns, effects of variation of panel length, cell size on the displacement and stress distributions are studied. The experimental work involves identification and recording of failure mechanisms by direct observation are compared with theoretical predictions and finite element analysis results.