Load and Compression Strength Properties

The beginning of our conversation will be for you to help us define what you mean by compression. We will uncover whether it is a point load or a uniform load, then we will discuss how the panel is going to be anchored as this dramatically affects panel performance. Knowing this, we can begin selecting materials, and determining the density of the core as well as the type and thickness of the skin. The trick is to combine the thinnest skin with the most appropriate core to develop the most competitive panel.

Bellcomb composite structural sandwich panels are often tasked with other performance characteristics and have unique environmental conditions to take into account: low panel weight, high corrosion resistance, or specific deflection requirements, for example. This is where Bellcomb offers you so much. You talk and we listen; we ask you questions and you describe your problem. We truly offer a customer engineered solution using structural composite lightweight panels.

CORE MATERIALS

When shock and impact loads are an issue, Bellcomb can choose and tailor core materials and honeycomb cell size to achieve appropriate compression strengths in our composite panels. Aluminum, for example, is extremely lightweight and has high compression strength. It's not as impact resistant as Polypropylene or Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), however, which offer fairly high compression strengths but are heavier than Aluminum. Depending on the service environment, our engineers may recommend a thicker Aluminum core or modify honeycomb cell size to maximize compression strength and provide greater impact resistance without increasing panel weight.

Highest rated core materials for compression strength:

• Aluminum honeycomb
• Nomex™ honeycomb
• Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) foam
• Urethane foam
• Balsa

SKIN MATERIALS

Compression strength is also affected by which skin material is selected to bond to a chosen core, and how thick (or thin) the skin material is. While Stainless Steel is very strong and relatively resistant to impact; it's also very heavy. Woven Fiberglass also rates very high in strength and impact resistance, yet it’s very light. Depending on the panel solution needed, a Woven Fiberglass skin bonded to an Aluminum honeycomb core is, potentially, an ideal combination for maximizing compression strength.

Highest rated skin materials for compression strength:

• Aluminum
• Steel
• Stainless Steel
• Woven Fiberglass
• Prepreg Fiber
• Hardboard

Our professionals are ready to discreetly work through your specific panel application requirements to find the best possible panel solution. Call us at 763-537-0200 or e-mail us at sales@bellcomb.com and see how Bellcomb can help you.