Experimental investigation on the mechanical behaviour of natural fibre sandwich panels with posidonia core

In this work, the mechanical behaviour of natural composite fibre sandwich panels is experimentally investigated. The composite sandwich panels are composed of a natural core made of Posidonia dried leaves reinforced with aluminium skins. The introduced material system is characterized by good structural behaviour (due to the aluminium skins) combined with the good thermal and acoustical insulation provided by the Posidonia core. Flexural and impact tests, characterized by different impact energies, have been performed on specimens with and without the aluminium skins, to preliminary assess the influence of the Posidonia core densities on the natural fibre sandwich mechanical behaviour.