Behaviour of structural fibre composite sandwich panels under point load and uniformly distributed load

An innovative fibre composite sandwich panel made of glass fibre reinforced polymer skins and a modified phenolic core material was developed for building and other structural applications. The behaviour of this new generation sandwich panel was studied with reference to the main fibre orientation in floor applications, so that the effect due to erroneous installation could be evaluated. The two- and four-edge supported sandwich panels with different fibre orientations and fixity systems between panel and joist were tested under point load and uniformly distributed load (UDL) to determine their strength and failure mechanisms. The results of this experimental investigation show that the panels behave similarly under both loading conditions. Moreover, the fixity does not have a major effect on its failure mode and deflection.