Behaviour of composite timber sandwich panels subjected to bending and shear

Abstract

Composite sandwich panels are manufactured by gluing plywood skins to either bamboo rings to produce Bamboo Core Sandwich (BCS) panels or peeler core rings to produce Peeler Core Sandwich (PCS) panels. Both single- and double-layer panels are produced. The manufactured panels are tested under four-point bending and three-point shear tests. Results are compared to the test results of conventional Cross-laminated Timber (CLT) panels. Moreover, one single-layer PCS panel with thicker plywood skins and less peeler core rings (PCS-TH) is manufactured. No significant improvements are observed in the double-layer panels compared to the single-layer panels in bending. However, in shear, double-layer panels show more consists capacities. The results indicate that the proposed PCS panel displays better ductile performance in bending and shear compared to CLT, suggesting it could be a preferred product choice in some building applications. Reduced weight, lower material costs, ease of manufacturing and usage of sustainable/waste products, make the proposed sandwich panels a potential alternative for CLT in terms of structural performance.