Recent developments on fibre composite sandwich structures in civil infrastructure

Fibre composite sandwich structures are increasingly used in applications requiring high bending stiffness and strength. At present, there is a strong interest in the development and applications of fibre composite sandwich structures for civil and building material systems. The light weight of sandwich composites facilitates handling during assembly, and reduces installation and transportation costs. They also offer corrosion resistant structures requiring less maintenance. This paper presents an overview of the recent developments and initiatives on fibre composite sandwich structures, which have been evolving and have become a viable construction material in civil infrastruc-ture. The on-going research, development and applications of a novel composite sandwich panel made up of glass fibre-reinforced polymer skins and a modified phenolic core material at the Centre of Excellence in Engineered Fibre Composites (CEEFC) at the University of Southern Queensland (USQ) are also highlighted