Fabrication and mechanical behaviors of recoverable thermoplastic sandwich structures with circular honeycomb cores based on the continuous approach

Recyclable, lightweight materials using advanced processing techniques are essential for the sustainable development of future wind turbine blades. Thermoplastic composite sandwich structures were developed to satisfy this need. This study presents a novel continuous approach for fabricating recoverable fully thermoplastic composite honeycomb sandwich structures. Finite element models of the honeycomb and sandwich plate, accounting for surface-to-surface contact between cells, were developed. Uniaxial compression analysis was performed on honeycombs to investigate their failure modes and energy absorption characteristics. Furthermore, the deformation mode and load-bearing capacity of thermoplastic composite honeycomb sandwich panels were examined under out-of-plane compression and shear loads. Our comprehensive finite element model, incorporating the intricate contact behavior of individual cells, demonstrated a remarkable concordance with experimental outcomes. Insightful predictions were given regarding the correlation between contact areas and load-bearing capacities.