Flexural Characteristics of Bio-Based Sandwich Beams Made of Paper Honeycomb Cores and Flax FRP Skins

Abstract

Sandwich structures have been used for building applications as building envelope and cladding systems. The sandwich structures used today are made of conventional synthetic Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP), such as glass fiber and carbon fiber, and synthetic foam core. With the increasing of environmental consciousness, it is important to develop sustainable building materials to replace conventional building materials. The use of bio-based materials for construction is a good way to improve the sustainability of buildings. However, bio-based sandwich structure has not been widely used today. Therefore, it is essential to investigate and understand the characteristics of structures made with bio-based materials. In this study, a total of 6 groups of large-scale bio-based sandwich beams made of flax FRP skins and two types of paper honeycomb core were studied.