Fabrication and failure mechanisms of ultralight all-CFRP sandwich cylinders under axial compression

Ultralight all-CFRP honeycomb sandwich cylinders were fabricated using a stretching process. Subsequently, critical failure loads corresponding to five typical failure modes of the sandwich cylinders under axial compression were obtained through theoretical derivation. Three-dimensional failure mechanism maps were generated, which intuitively revealed the influence of the dimensionless parameters on structural failure. The panel thickness was selected as a variable, and quasi-static axial compressive tests were performed on the sandwich cylinders. Two failure modes, intracellular buckling and face crushing, were observed, which is consistent with theory. The experimental results were analysed and discussed systematically. The ultralight all-CFRP honeycomb sandwich cylinders were compared with existing cylinders to reveal their bearing advantages. The established failure mechanism maps provide guidance for the preparation and optimisation of honeycomb sandwich cylinders. Compared with the traditional fabrication processes of honeycomb cores, the novel stretching process is expected to achieve mass production, which is helpful to provide technical support for the lightweight manufacturing of aerospace structural components.