Micro-Tomography to Study High-performance Sandwich Structures

Although X-radiography has been widely used in studies of damage in composite materials, micro-tomography has received less attention, due to the high cost and limited availability of equipment. However, micro-tomographic analysis is a powerful tool, allowing 3D images of sections through sandwich materials to be obtained without specimen preparation. Four examples from a recent study are presented here, which show how micro-tomography can provide unique information on the quality of honeycomb sandwich structures, information on damage mechanisms and internal details of through thickness reinforcement in pinned foam cores.