Masters Theses

Abstract

"Composite sandwich structures have been extensively employed in aerospace structures, ship building, infrastructure, etc. due to their light weight and high strength to weight ratio. The understanding of their behavior under impact and environmental conditions is extremely important for the design and manufacturing of these engineering structures since these problems are directly related to structural integrity and safety requirements. Vacuum assisted resin transfer molding (VARTM) is one of the commonly used low cost composite manufacturing processes. Polyurethane (PU) resin system has been observed to have better mechanical properties and higher impact strength when compared to conventional resin systems such as polyester and vinyl ester. This study has two parts, part one investigates the damage behavior of composite sandwich structures manufactured using the VARTM process with polyurethane resin and two different foam cores, rigid PU 6 lb density and Webcore (TYCOR-W) respectively, under transverse impacts at low velocities. Part two explores how moisture permeation can deteriorate composite sandwich material structures. This part describes an investigation of the mechanical degradation of the composite sandwich structure exposed to moisture."--Abstract, page iii.

Advisor(s)

Chandrashekhara, K.

Committee Member(s)

Okafor, A. Chukwujekwu (Anthony Chukwujekwu)
Du, Xiaoping

Department(s)

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Degree Name

M.S. in Mechanical Engineering

Publisher

Missouri University of Science and Technology

Publication Date

Spring 2013

Pagination

x, 59 pages

Note about bibliography

Includes bibliographical references.

Rights

© 2013 Stephen Robert Hawkins, All rights reserved.

Document Type

Thesis - Open Access

File Type

text

Language

English

Subject Headings

Polyurethanes -- TestingSandwich construction -- TestingSandwich construction -- Moisture -- Testing

Thesis Number

T 10499

Electronic OCLC #

883202700

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