Experimental Study on the Strain Rate Effects to Determine the Influence of Slamming Loads on Balsa Cored Sandwich Structures Used in High-Speed Crafts Hull

Sandwich structures are more frequently used in high speed crafts manufacturing because of lightweight, low operational cost and relatively good durability properties. The hull structure in these vessels often experiences wave slamming events that induce dynamic forces resulting in highstrain rates in the hull. Scantling societies treat sandwich materials differently in their design rules. In common, the design of hull structures is usually conducted based on properties obtained fromquasi-static tests. Sandwich hull design could be optimized if the effects of strain rate on properties were taken into account during the design process. In most rules there is no explicit consideration ofthe altered material properties related to high strain rate loading. In this work, three strain rates were considered ranging from quasi-static to simulated wave slamming conditions to determine the effect of slamming loads on a real specimen of hull panel made of balsa core and glass fiber/epoxy composite skins.