Static and dynamic analysis of polyethylene terephthalate foam core and different natural fiber-reinforced laminated composite-based sandwich plates through experimental and numerical simulation

This study explores the flexural behavior and free vibration analysis of sandwich plates including natural fiber-reinforced polymer composite faces and Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) foam cores under a range of edge situations. ABAQUS is used to do numerical simulations with three-dimensional solid elements (C3D8R). To ascertain the natural frequencies of the plates, experimental procedures such as impact hammer testing and Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) analysis are carried out. The inference of different geometrical parameters on the natural frequencies is investigated through numerical simulation in ABAQUS. The study gives brief outlines regarding the sandwich plates for different engineering applications.