Investigation of the Lightweight Potential and Mechanical Properties of Paper Folding Cores, 23TAPPICon

Folding cores made of paper represent an innovative and sustainable sandwich core structure with high lightweight potential. Previous work has investigated folding cores made of prepreg, plastic and aluminum for aircraft construction. Largely unexplored is the use of paper as a material for folding cores. Paper offers great potential for growing markets such as packaging, furniture construction and lightweight applications. Compared to corrugated board, folding cores can save about 30 % of material. As part of the work to date, a method for the production as well as laboratory-scale testing of the folding cores has been developed. With this method, representative values for compressive strength and stiffness can be determined even with relatively small sample sizes from laboratory sheets. For production, the fold-ing sample is first scored into the paper and then the core is unfolded step by step. For testing, the folded core is placed in the grooves of a die. In further investigations, the relationships between the mechanical properties of the paper and the mechanical properties of the folding cores were examined. It has been shown that the mechanical properties of folding cores are linearly dependent on the bending stiffness and the RCT value. Following the ring-crush test, the L-crush test was developed so that the failure behavior along the folds in the L-direction could also be investigated. This test procedure showed the same failure mechanisms as in the folded cores. Furthermore, it was shown that the stress-strain curves of the folding core and L-crush test are qualitatively comparable with each other. From this, it is hypothesized that the L-crush test can be used to estimate the mechanical folding core properties. The results offer the possibility of optimiz-ing folding core structures and papers for the above-mentioned applications, thus leading to more sustain-able and better recyclable products.

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