Mechanical behavior and failure modes of aluminum/bamboo sandwich plates under quasi-static loading

Experimental investigations have been made on the quasi-static mechanical behavior and failure modes of aluminum/bamboo sandwich plates. Thermosetting epoxy resin and thermoplastic Polybond resin were used to bond the aluminum sheets and the bamboo. Tensile, compressive and flexural properties were evaluated. The effects of bond conditions on the mechanical behavior and failure modes were examined. The thermoplastic Polybond resin resulted in a stronger interface bond than the thermosetting epoxy resin. The improvement of the interface bond led to significant increases in compressive and flexural properties. The tensile properties were found to be insensitive to the interface bond. The dominant failure mechanisms affected by the interface bond dictated the mechanical properties of the sandwich plates in individual loading conditions. (C) 2000 Kluwer Academic Publishers.