Investigation of frequency characteristics of GFRP/phenolic sandwich beams

At the University of Southern Queensland, a research project is being carried out to study the dynamic characteristics of a new innovative fibre composite polymer (FRP) sandwich panel. As a part of the project, the natural frequency behaviour of such fibre composite sandwich beam has been investigated by experimental tests and numerical simulation. The innovative FRP sandwich panel was developed by LOC Composite Pty Ltd for civil engineering applications. The FRP sandwich beam was cut from this panel for the experimental investigation. The FRP sandwich beam is made from two FRP skins and modified phenolic core material. The experimental analysis was conducted to find the FRP sandwich beam natural frequency behaviour under different support conditions. The experimental results were then compared with the FE numerical analysis and a first order shear deformation theory was used in the modelling. In addition, the experimental results were compared with the existing analytical equations. It is found that the FE analysis showed a good agreement with the existing experimental results.