Numerical and experimental investigations on HYLITE sandwich sheets as an alternative sheet metal

Current developments show that in the field of sheeting alternative material concepts are successfully applied. In this context metal plastic sandwiches, which are composed of two thin metallic surface layers and a polymer core, represent an interesting group of semi-finished products. Compared to conventional sheet metal materials the structural modification caused by sandwich design provides an increased specific flexural rigidity. Extensive experimental and numerical investigations were carried out for the characterisation of this still young group of semi-finished products. The evaluation of suitable calculation methods represents a crucial step to a broad application of semi-finished metal plastic sandwiches within bulk production processes.