Theoretical prediction and experimental validation of flexural behaviour and failure modes of 3D-woven honeycomb sandwich panels

This study presents a novel approach to enhance the flexural performance of sandwich composite panels by introducing 3D-woven honeycomb (HC) composites as core material. The flexural performance and failure modes of these novel structures are compared with traditional aluminium honeycombs across various facesheet materials. Experimental findings are complemented by numerical analyses, while observed failure modes are compared with theoretical flexural failure modes. The results reveal that 3D-woven Kevlar HC cores demonstrate superior flexural stiffness and strength due to its integrated structure, while enhanced energy absorption is attributed to unique deformation mechanisms within the 3D-woven core. Failure modes observed in the experiments closely aligned with theoretical predictions, further validating the approach. Overall, the findings validate the potential of novel 3D-woven Kevlar HC cores as promising alternatives for lightweight, highperformance sandwich composite panels.