A CANDIDATE HONEYCOMB MATERIAL FOR OCEAN STRUCTURES

RESEARCHERS ARE CONSTRUCTING TEST PANELS OF FIBER-REINFORCED-POLYMER HONEYCOMB (FRPH), INSTRUMENTED WITH STRAIN GAUGES AND ACOUSTIC SENSORS FOR CONDUCTING NON-DESTRUCTIVE EVALUATION (NDE) ACOUSTIC EMISSION (AE) AND PHYSICAL LOAD TESTING. FRPH STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS ARE HIGH-STRENGTH, LIGHTWEIGHT, CORROSION-RESISTANT, TOUTH, AND RESILIENT; THEY CAN BE MACHINE-MANUFACTURED USING A HIGH-VOLUME, CONTINUOUS PROCESS. FRPH STRUCTURAL SYSTEMS HAVE THE POTENTIAL FOR ACHIEVING SIGNIFICANT COST, LABOR, AND WEIGHT REDUCTIONS IN MARINE STRUCTURES AND HAVE THE CAPABILITY OF BEING THOROUGHLY INSTRUMENTED FOR EVALUATION AND MONITORING. DURING TESTING, FAILURES WILL BE INDUCED TO DETERMINE THE UTILITY OF AE TECHNIQUES FOR SUTDYING FRPH FAILURE MODES, FAILURE SEQUENCE, FAILURE MONITORING, AND INCIPENT FAILURE ONSET. SUCCESSFUL TEST RESULTS WILL BE A SIGNIFICANT FACTOR TOWARD QUALIFYING FRPH STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS AS ACCEPTED AND ECONOMICALLY COMPETITIVE STRUCTURAL-ENGINEERING INGREDIENTS FOR USE IN MARINE STRUCTURES AND FOR LAND-BASED STRUCTURAL APPLICATIONS.