Thermostructural Analysis of Honeycomb Sandwich Panels

Abstract The thermal analysis is performed on a heated Inconel 617 honeycomb-core sandwich panel. Sandwich panel is supported at its four edges with spar-like sub-structures that acted as heat sinks, which are generally not considered in the classical analysis. One side of the panel is subjected to a heat flux on the surface. Two types of surface heating were considered: (1) hexagonal honeycomb sandwich panels, and (2) square honeycomb sandwich panel, which approximates the actual surface temperature distribution associated with the existence of edge heat sinks. The finite-element method is used to find the thermal stress distributions in the face sheets and core of the sandwich panel. The detailed thermal stress distributions in the sandwich panel are presented. This technical report presents comprehensive, 3D graphical displays of thermal stress distributions in every part of a Inconel 617 honeycomb-core sandwich panel and also shows the comparison of effective heat transfer rate between hexagonal and square honey comb sandwich panels.