PSI - Issue 54

Available online at www.sciencedirect.com Structural Integrity Procedia 00 (2023) 000 – 000 Available online at www.sciencedirect.com ^ĐŝĞŶĐĞ ŝƌĞĐƚ Structural Integrity Procedia 00 (2023) 000 – 000 Available online at www.sciencedirect.com ^ĐŝĞŶĐĞ ŝƌĞĐƚ

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Procedia Structural Integrity 54 (2024) 44–51

© 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0 ) Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the ICSI 2023 organizers Abstract This paper focuses on the effects of seawater degradation on the energy-absorption properties of FRP sandwich structures to understand their damage mechanisms. Specimens made of plain-woven carbon fiber-reinforced plastics and glass fiber-reinforced plastics as facesheets with polyvinylchloride foam core were investigated. The specimens were degraded under 3.5% salinity for 16 weeks and their moisture absorption performance was evaluated over this period. quasi-static indentation tests were conducted, and the force and energy-displacement curves were analyzed while damage morphology was analyzed using X-ray micro-CT and scanning electron microscopy. The obtained results showed a reduction in the energy-absorption capabilities of the structure due to decreased interfacial bonds between the core and the face sheets and a variation in the damage area, the damage depth, and the bulging height caused by degradation in seawater. © 2023 The Authors, Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open-access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0) Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the ICSI 2023 organizers 1. Introduction Over the last five decades, there has been a significant rise in the use of composite materials in marine applications owing to their inherent advantage of a greater stiffness-to-weight ratio than traditional metals [1]. One of the common configurations of composite materials is fiber-reinforced plastic sandwich structures (FRPSS) made from thermosetting resins, thanks to their practical manufacture, buoyancy, and acceptable impact resistance [2 – 5]. These materials are commonly made of glass fiber-reinforced plastics (GFRP) or carbon fiber-reinforced plastics (CFRP) International Conference on Structural Integrity 2023 (ICSI 2023) Seawater Effect on Energy-Absorption Properties of Polymer-Based Composite Sandwich Structures Norman Osa-uwagboe*, Vadim V.Silberschimdt, and Emrah Demirci. Wolfson School of Mechanical, Electrical, and Manufacturing Engineering, Loughborough University, LE11 3TU, UK * Corresponding author email: n.osa-uwagboe@lboro.ac.uk Abstract This paper focuses on the effects of seawater degradation on the energy-absorption properties of FRP sandwich structures to understand their damage mechanisms. Specimens made of plain-woven carbon fiber-reinforced plastics and glass fiber-reinforced plastics as facesheets with polyvinylchloride foam core were investigated. The specimens were degraded under 3.5% salinity for 16 weeks and their moisture absorption performance was evaluated over this period. quasi-static indentation tests were conducted, and the force and energy-displacement curves were analyzed while damage morphology was analyzed using X-ray micro-CT and scanning electron microscopy. The obtained results showed a reduction in the energy-absorption capabilities of the structure due to decreased interfacial bonds between the core and the face sheets and a variation in the damage area, the damage depth, and the bulging height caused by degradation in seawater. © 2023 The Authors, Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open-access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0) Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the ICSI 2023 organizers Keywords: Fibre-reinforced polymer, seawater exposure, damage, quasi-static indentation 1. Introduction Over the last five decades, there has been a significant rise in the use of composite materials in marine applications owing to their inherent advantage of a greater stiffness-to-weight ratio than traditional metals [1]. One of the common configurations of composite materials is fiber-reinforced plastic sandwich structures (FRPSS) made from thermosetting resins, thanks to their practical manufacture, buoyancy, and acceptable impact resistance [2 – 5]. These materials are commonly made of glass fiber-reinforced plastics (GFRP) or carbon fiber-reinforced plastics (CFRP) 2452-3216 © 2023 The Authors, Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0) Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the ICSI 2023 organizers 2452-3216 © 2023 The Authors, Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0) Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the ICSI 2023 organizers International Conference on Structural Integrity 2023 (ICSI 2023) Seawater Effect on Energy-Absorption Properties of Polymer-Based Composite Sandwich Structures Norman Osa-uwagboe*, Vadim V.Silberschimdt, and Emrah Demirci. Wolfson School of Mechanical, Electrical, and Manufacturing Engineering, Loughborough University, LE11 3TU, UK * Corresponding author email: n.osa-uwagboe@lboro.ac.uk Keywords: Fibre-reinforced polymer, seawater exposure, damage, quasi-static indentation

2452-3216 © 2023 The Authors. Published by ELSEVIER B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0) Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the ICSI 2023 organizers 10.1016/j.prostr.2024.01.054