An experimental test program and companion analytical study were designed and conducted to gain understanding of the tensile failure mechanisms in asymmetrical tapered sandwich core structures at cold temperatures. Representative test coupons were subjected to a tensile load in an environmental chamber to induce foam tensile failure in the core. Finite-element modeling with a proposed maximum principal stress criterion was used to predict the failure loads of the tapered test coupon design at the test temperatures. The predicted failure loads were in good agreement with test results. An important finding is that the cure stresses in the foam are significant and should not be ignored. Additionally, the analysis correctly predicted the failure initiation location, which was verified using high speed photography during the tensile test. The study identified the critical failure regions of asymmetrical tapered sandwich core designs and the failure load dependence on the temperature gradient in the structure.

设计并进行了实验测试程序和配套分析研究，以了解非对称锥形夹芯结构在低温下的拉伸失效机制。代表性测试试样在环境室中经受拉伸载荷以在芯中引起泡沫拉伸破坏。使用建议的最大主应力准则的有限元建模来预测锥形测试试样设计在测试温度下的失效载荷。预测的失效载荷与测试结果非常吻合。一个重要的发现是泡沫中的固化应力是显着的，不应被忽视。此外，该分析正确地预测了失效起始位置，这在拉伸试验期间使用高速摄影进行了验证。