Innovative metal wire reinforced honeycomb sandwich panels for lightweight,high-strength structural applications in transportation engineering

Abstract

In the growing demand for lightweight and high-strength structural panels, this research focuses on the fabrication of Metal Wire Reinforced Foam Filled Honeycomb Sandwich Panels (MRFHS) using the Vacuum Assisted Resin Transfer Molding (VARTM) process. To tackle the issue of face sheet-to-core debonding commonly found in conventional foam-filled panels, two novel metal wire patterns of orthogonal (MRFHS1) and horizontal (MRFHS2) were inserted through the face sheets and polyurethane foam filled aluminum honeycomb core, followed by impregnation with polyester resin via the VARTM technique. The mechanical performance of the panels was evaluated using flatwise compression, edgewise compression, and flexural tests. These tests are critical for assessing compressive strength, flexural behavior, and damage resistance essential factors for understanding load-bearing capacity and structural reliability under various loading conditions. The results demonstrated that the MRFHS1 panels outperformed non-metal wire panels, showing 1.48 times higher flatwise compressive strength, 1.38 times greater edgewise strength, and 1.77 times improved flexural strength. The orthogonal wire insertion pattern in MRFHS1 panel effectively distributed applied stresses across the face sheet-core interface, enhancing interfacial bonding and minimizing structural damage than MRFHS2 and RFHS panel. Furthermore, statistical analysis using Machine Learning (ML) with Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Tukey Honestly Significant Difference (HSD) confirmed MRFHS1 as the best-performing panel. These findings highlight MRFHS1 panels as promising candidates for lightweight and durable structural applications across transportation and infrastructure industries.