Mechanical characterisation of a glass/polyester sandwich structure for marine applications

In recent years composite materials have been used in several fields, such as sport and sea transportation, where the incidence of the cost of materials is not significant if compared with the required high mechanical performances. As a matter of fact, in these fields the whole equipment is nowadays realized in composite materials (i.e. yacht hulls, windsurf boards). The aim of the present work is to deepen the knowledge of mechanical properties of sandwich structures used for marine applications suggesting the solutions to increase their performances. In particular, a new lamination sequence - used to realize the cover exhaust of luxury yachts – has been investigated. The behavior of the sandwiches was studied, under static conditions, by performing the following tests: three point flexural, torsion, edgewise compression and flatwise compression test. The tests execution has allowed both to find out the mechanical performances and to understand several fracture mechanisms that take place in these structures.