Compression of composite honeycomb core sandwich panels after low velocity impact

The compressive tests were carried out on the sandwich panel with honeycomb core after low speed impact. The process of damage development was studied with X-ray and visual inspection, and the failure mechanism was analyzed. The experimental results have shown that the residual strength decreases as impact energy increase. The compressive failure was controlled by the front face sheet, and failure modes have mainly local buckling and strength damage. The glass cloth on the face sheet not only can reduce impact damage, but also enable the internal damage of the panel to display in surface.