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Investigation of the Static Behavior and Failure Mechanisms of a 3D Printed

Bio-Based Sandwich with Auxetic Core

Article in International Journal of Applied Mechanics · May 2020

DOI: 10.1142/S1758825120500519

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International Journal of Applied Mechanics

Vol. 12, No. 5 (2020) 2050051 (21 pages)
c World Scientific Publishing Europe Ltd.
DOI: 10.1142/S1758825120500519

Investigation of the Static Behavior and Failure

Mechanisms of a 3D Printed Bio-Based
Sandwich with Auxetic Core

Khawla Essassi∗
Le Mans University
Acoustics Laboratory of Le Mans University
LAUM, UMR CNRS 6613, Av. O. Messiaen 72085
Le Mans Cedex 9, France
Department of Mechanical Engineering
National School of Engineering of Sfax Laboratory of Mechanics
Modelling and Production, Route Soukra
3038 Sfax, Tunisie
khawlaessassi@gmail.com

Jean-Luc Rebiere† and Abderrahim El Mahi‡

Le Mans University
Acoustics Laboratory of Le Mans University
LAUM, UMR CNRS 6613, Av. O. Messiaen
72085 Le Mans Cedex 9, France
†jean-luc.rebiere@Univ-lemans.fr
‡abderrahim.elmahi@Univ-lemans.fr

Mohamed Amine Ben Souf§ , Anas Bouguecha¶

and Mohamed Haddar
National School of Engineering of Sfax
Sfax University, Laboratory of Mechanics
Modelling and Production, Route Soukra
3038 Sfax, Tunisie
§bensouf.mohamedamine@gmail.com
¶anas.bouguecha@gmx.de
Mohamed.haddar@enis.rnu.tn

Received 19 December 2019

Revised 14 April 2020
Accepted 14 April 2020
Published 5 August 2020

In this research contribution, the static behavior and failure mechanisms are developed
for a three-dimensional (3D) printed dogbone, auxetic structure and sandwich composite
using acoustic emissions (AEs). The skins, core and whole sandwich are manufactured
using the same bio-based material which is polylactic acid reinforced with micro-flax
fibers. Tensile tests are conducted on the skins and the core while bending tests are con-
ducted on the sandwich composite. Those tests are carried out on four different auxetic

∗ Corresponding author.

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densities in order to investigate their effect on the mechanical and damage properties
of the materials. To monitor the invisible damage and damage propagation, a highly
sensitive AE testing method is used. It is found that the sandwich with high core density
displays advanced mechanical properties in terms of bending stiffness, shear stiffness, fac-
ing bending stress and core shear stress. In addition, the AE data points during testing
present an amplitude range of 40–85 dB that characterizes visible and invisible damage
up to failure.

Keywords: Tensile tests; bending tests; 3D printing; auxetic structures; FEM; acoustic
emission.

1. Introduction
Over the past several decades, sandwich panels have been widely used in the air-
craft industry and automotive, sports, and leisure sectors due to their high energy
absorption, strength to weight ratio and bending stiffness [Schaedler and Carter,
2016; Toubia and Elmushyakhi, 2017]. Sandwich composites are made of two thin
and stiff skins separated by a relatively thick core generally made of foam, wood
or honeycomb structure, etc. The mechanical properties of the sandwich structure
depend on the basic material and fiber reinforcement used for construction and most
importantly on the core structural design. It is found [Sarvestani et al., 2018a,b]
that the core topology and geometrical parameters have considerable effects on
failure mechanisms under bending tests and energy absorption of meta-sandwich
structures. The development in structural engineering design and the complexity of
the core topology of sandwich composites is growing due to high demand for the
development of these structures, which are highly satisfactory in a wide range of
engineering applications.
The large diversity in terms of topology and material design used as core mate-
rials in the sandwich structure give them a large range of possible multifunctional
characteristics and unusual deformation properties. Auxetic structures with a nega-
tive Poisson’s ratio are one of the most common architecture cellular structures used
in sandwich composites. Auxetic materials used as core topology in sandwich com-
posites have shown their ability to enhance load bearing and electromagnetic energy
absorption [Wang et al., 2018] and show less deflection during bending [Evans, 1991].
Auxetic materials have many advantages, such as indentation resistance [Xiao et al.,
2019] and better acoustic properties [Chen and Lakes, 1996]. Also, damping per-
formances of a 3D printed bio-based sandwich [Essassi et al., 2019a,b] have been
studied and their mechanical properties have been observed. The bending and fail-
ure mechanisms of sandwich composites with auxetic honeycomb cores have been
investigated [Hou et al., 2013, 2014]. Moreover, the bending behavior of sandwich
structures with auxetic honeycomb core topology in comparison with their conven-
tional counterparts and truss core materials have been studied [Hou et al., 2018].
It is found that re-entrant honeycomb core stabilizes the occurrences of the face
sheet penetration as the impact energy increases and grants the sandwich consistent
behaviors under multi-cycle impacts. Manufacturing these architecture structures

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Investigation of the Static Behavior and Failure Mechanisms

can be done by vacuum-assisted resin transfer molding [Jishi et al., 2016], a hot-
press molding technique and interlocking method [Wu et al., 2016] or a pultrusion
process and snap-fitting method [Finnegan et al., 2007]. Recently, 3D printing tech-
niques, also known as additive manufacturing, have undergone great development
that enables easy control of the complex architecture and geometrical details of
these materials [Yu et al., 2013; Wang et al., 2019]. Sandwich composites manufac-
tured using 3D printing technique show advanced mechanical properties over the
other existing materials with similar composite structures and fabricated using tra-
ditional methods [Parandoush and Lin, 2017; Goh et al., 2019]. It is a technique that
can be used to produce composites with long or short fibers. In addition, additive
manufacturing techniques are considered as a good alternative to traditional textile
forming technique for the production of composites with multi-directional performs
[Quan et al., 2015].
Nowadays, environmental challenges we are facing impose the use of bio-based
materials instead of synthetic ones. These materials present several advantages such
as biodegradability, low cost, extremely low density, high specific strength and recy-
clability [Baghaei et al., 2013]. Flax fibers are the most commonly investigated nat-
ural fibers because of their ability to improve the mechanical strength and stiffness
of composite materials [Daoud et al., 2016, 2017]. Bio-based sandwiches with a balsa
wood core [Monti et al., 2017] have been studied and good mechanical behavior has
been observed. The damage mechanisms of sandwich structures under quasi-static
indentation tests with different indenter geometry have been studied [Dikshit et al.,
2017, 2018]. The acoustic emission (AE) method was used to identify the exact
crack initiation and propagation in the materials.
Different researches were elaborated to study the mechanical performances of
bio-sandwich composites. Several core topologies, such as wood, foams and archi-
tectured geometry, were studied. The combination of bio-sandwich composite with
auxetic structure and the use of 3D printing technique are limited. Also, the failure
mechanisms of this tape of materials are not largely investigated. The main idea
of this work is to use 3D printing technique to manufacture a material that com-
bines the high bending performance of sandwich composites with auxetic core and
a 100% bio-based material that meets environmental requirements. In this context,
re-entrant honeycombs and sandwich composite are designed using CAD software
and then manufactured using a 3D printing technique. Four different densities of
auxetic structure are studied. Uniaxial tensile tests are conducted to investigate the
material properties and the Poisson’s ratios of the auxetic structures as compared
with numerical and theoretical prediction. Three-point bending tests are performed
to obtain the mechanical properties of the sandwiches. Finite element analysis is fur-
ther carried out to predict the experimental results. In addition, damage initiation
and propagation are monitored using a highly-sensitive AE testing method. Results
are discussed on terms of maximum load supporting capacity combined with the
appearance of AE data points.

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2. Materials and Methods

2.1. Structural design and manufacturing
The proposed sandwich composites (core and skins) are manufactured using poly-
lactic acid (PLA) reinforced with flax fibers (PFF) with a density of 1000 kg.m−3 .
The fiber volume fraction is less than 20%. The PFF filaments used here are pro-
vided by NANOVIA and have a diameter of 1.75 mm. They are made specifically
for additive manufacturing technology. The 3D printer used to manufacture the
specimens is the MakerBot Replicator2 Desktop. Considering the layer-by-layer
fabrication process of the 3D printer, the layer orientation is studied and chosen
in a way that improves the mechanical properties of the material. The geometric
features of the auxetic structure used as the core material of the sandwich compos-
ite is described in Fig. 1. l and h are the original length of the inclined and the
vertical cell walls, respectively. θ is the initial angle between the inclined walls and
the X-axis. b and t are the specimen thickness and cell wall thickness, respectively.
The width of the specimens is equal to 25 mm. From Fig. 1, we obtain L = 2l cos θ
and H = 2(h + l sin θ) which are the specimen length on the X and Y axes, respec-
tively. θ with a negative value, see Fig. 1(b). Several relative core densities are tested
in order to obtain different sandwich configurations. The relative density [Gibson
and Ashby, 1988], which is the ratio between the density of re-entrant cells ρ and
material density ρs , is calculated by:

ρ t/l(h/l + 2)
= . (2.1)
ρs 2 cos θ(h/l + sin θ)

Table 1 presents the value of each parameter of the unit cell and relative densities
of each configuration. The in-plane Poisson’s ratio can be calculated [Gibson and
Ashby, 1988] by:

cos2 θ
νxy = . (2.2)
sin θ(h/l + sin θ)

(a) (b)

Fig. 1. (a) Sandwich composite with re-entrant honeycomb core; (b) Design of the 3D re-entrant
honeycomb structure.

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Table 1. Design parameters of auxetic core.

Width in number ρ/ρs (%) l (mm) h (mm) θ (degree) t (mm) b (mm)

of cells
1 8.3 13.3 17.04 −20 0.6 5
2 16.7 6.65 8.52 −20 0.6 5
3 25.1 4.43 5.68 −20 0.6 5
4 33.5 3.32 4.26 −20 0.6 5

The Young’s modulus in the load direction (the X-axis in this case) can be calculated
[Masters and Evans, 1996] by:
Ks cos θ
Ex =  Ks 2
 . (2.3)
b Khf sin θ + cos2 θ hl + sin θ
btEs bt3 Es btGs
With Ks = l ; Khf = l2 ( K1f + 1
Kh ); Kf = l3 and Kh = l .
Es and Gs are the Young’s modulus and the shear modulus of the raw mate-
rial (PFF), respectively. The auxetic structures used in this study are orthotropic.
Therefore, the Poisson’s ratio νyx can be estimated. Nonetheless, only the Poisson’s
ratio, νxy , is studied because the tensile tests are conducted following the X-axis.

2.2. Tensile test

The material properties are investigated through tensile tests performed on 3D
printed dogbone according to the ASTM D638 standard test method. Three differ-
ent orientations are tested in order to take into account the effect of the printing
direction. Figure 2(a) shows the dogbone with the different printing orientation.
A standard hydraulic machine INSTRON with a load cell of 10 kN and rate of
1 mm/min is used for this test.
In the same way, auxetic structures with different densities were tested in order
to define their Poisson’s ratio. Specimens were printed with a length of 100 mm, a

(a) (b)
Fig. 2. (a) 3D printed dog-bone coupons and (b) tensile set-up of the auxetic structure.

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width of 25 mm and a thickness of 5 mm. A bloc 25 mm long is printed with the

specimens in order to avoid damaging the auxetic cells while clamping. Figure 2(b)
present the tensile set-up of the auxetic structure. A transverse and longitudinal
extensometer are used to measure the displacement of the beams during testing.
In the second part, a finite elements method is performed in order to predict the
mechanical properties of the PFF auxetic structure. The Poisson’s ratio of each
configuration is predicted numerically. 3D models are created and subjected to
the same boundary conditions investigated experimentally in order to ensure the
validity of the finite element analysis. The material properties introduced in the
finite elements model are determined experimentally (see Table 2 for the X-axis
print direction). Five samples are tested for each configuration during mechanical
tests in order to take into account the variability of the experimental results.

2.3. Three-point bending test

Three-point bending tests are performed on the sandwich beams with different core
densities according to the ASTM C393 standard test methods, as shown in Fig. 3.
The quasi-static load was applied at a displacement rate of 5 mm/min. The tests
were carried out with a machine equipped with a 10 kN load cell. The deflection
of the sandwich was measured using a displacement sensor (LVDT). It is so sen-
sitive that it can even measure very small displacement. The sandwich beams are
designed to have an overall length of 120 mm, width of 25 mm and a thickness of
7 mm (2 mm for the two skins and 5 mm for the core). Beams are tested to failure
with a span length of 110 mm in order to analyze the sandwiches properties at fail-
ure. To take into account the variability of results due to experimental conditions,

Fig. 3. Three-point bending set-up.

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Fig. 4. Finite element models of the three-point bending tests.

three to five specimens for each configuration are tested. Also, the sandwiches are
tested in their linear domain for different span lengths, from 100 mm to 240 mm.
These tests are carried out to calculate the bending and shear stiffness of the
sandwiches.

2.4. Finite element modeling

The finite element analysis is developed in this section. Numerical simulations are
performed in order to predict the experimental results. This model is validated
experimentally, which will allow us to apply it to a wide range of materials as well
as structures. This will reduce the cost of the experiment and having real results.
Due to their complex geometries, the sandwich composites were created using CAD
Software. Afterward, the model was translated into instruction compatible with the
finite element software package ABAQUS/Standard. Figure 4 shows the geometry
of the model and boundary conditions. A 3D model, which considers the complex-
ity of the auxetic structure, was used. The raw material of the sandwich composite
is assumed to have elastic-plastic behavior. The behavior law introduced in the
software is that determined experimentally by the dogbone tensile test. The non-
linearity of the sandwich is defined by the geometry of the auxetic structure itself
imported into the software. The sandwich is meshed using tetrahedral quadratic
elements. The number of elements used to mesh the composite depends on the core
densities used and varies between 50,266 for the sandwich with 8.3% relative core
density and 85,640 for the sandwich with 33.5% relative core density. The lengths of
the beams tested was 120 mm, the width was 25 mm and the thickness were 7 mm.
The span length is of 110 mm.

3. Results and Discussion

3.1. Material properties
To study the 3D printed auxetic structures and sandwich composites, it is necessary
to characterize the base PFF material. Considering the layer-by-layer manufacturing
process of the 3D printer, the layer orientation is studied to determine the orienta-
tion that improves the mechanical properties of the material. Indeed, three different
orientation were tested, the X, Y and Z direction. The tensile tests are performed

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50
(σu, εy)
40 εp

Stress [MPa]
30

20
E
X-direction
10
Y-direction
Z-direction
0
0 0.05 0.1 0.15
Strain

Fig. 5. Engineering stress–strain curves under tensile load of PFF dog-bone coupons printed in
different orientations.

Table 2. Experimental properties of 3D printed PFF dogbone coupons.

Average mechanical Young’s modulus Ultimate strength Yield strain Plastic strain
properties E [GPa] σu [MPa] εy at failure εp
X printed orientation 2.6 ± 0.1 37.9 ± 1 0.03 0.07
Y printed orientation 2.5 ± 0.1 36.2 ± 0.4 0.03 0.1
Z printed orientation 2.3 ± 0.1 32.8 ± 1.1 0.03 0.05

on three 3D printed dogbone coupons in each orientation. Figure 5 presents the

experimental engineering stress–strain curves of 3D printed PFF coupons in differ-
ent orientations. The material behavior for each orientation is related essentially to
the 3D-printing defects in that direction.
The average mechanical properties of PFF in the different printed orientations
are shown in Table 2. It is clearly seen that the X printing orientation is the direction
that best improves the mechanical properties of 3D printed materials (Young’s
modulus, ultimate strength, yield strain and plastic strain at failure). Therefore, all
samples will be been printed along the X-direction.

3.2. Auxetic structure properties

The tensile tests are performed on the 3D printed auxetic structure with different
densities. It is possible to calculate the Young’s modulus for each configuration using
the experimental stress-longitudinal strain curves. It represents the slope of the
curve in the elastic domain. In addition, the Poisson’s ratio can be evaluated using
the transverse-longitudinal strain curves in the elastic domain too; it is the slope
of these curves. The strains are measured using extensometers. The Poisson’s ratio
is the negative of the transverse strain divided by the longitudinal strain. Figure 6
presents the Poisson’s ratio and the Young’s modulus of re-entrant honeycombs
with different relative densities. Results are obtained using experimental tensile

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-4 800
Experimental Experimental
Analytical Analytical

Young's modulus E [MPa]

FEM model FEM model
-3 600
Poisson’s ratio ν

-2 400

-1 200

0 0
8.3 16.7 25.1 33.5 8.3 16.7 25.1 33.5
Relative density ρ/ρs [%] Relative density ρ/ρs [%]

(a) (b)

Fig. 6. Experimental, analytical and FE results of: (a) Poisson’s ratio and (b) Young’s modulus
of the different auxetic structure configurations.

tests; the analytical equation is used for evaluating the Poisson’s ratio of the cells
and numerical simulations.
It is clearly observed that the Poisson’s ratio of this material is negative which
proves its auxetic behavior, as shown in Fig. 6(a). In fact, this material can get fatter
in a first time when stretched under the effect of a tensile force in both directions
X and Y . The cell therefore changes from the auxetic form to a rectangular shape,
and thereby begins to stretch in the direction of the application of the force and
shrink in the other two directions. For the experimental results, the Poisson’s ratio
is evaluated in the linear-elastic deformation domain. Only the behavior of unit cells
in the center of the specimens is considered. Indeed, the deformation of the cells
in the extremities of the specimens is affected by boundary conditions (clamping
condition). That is why it is necessary to avoid considering the deformation in
this region. There is a close agreement between experimental, analytical and finite
element Poisson’s ratio. Considering the auxetic structure with 8.3% relative density
as an example, it is found that the difference between the Poisson’s ratio deduced
from experimental tests and analytical formulation and numerical simulation are
equal to 1.6% and 2.9%, respectively. It is clearly seen that the Poisson’s ratio of
the different configurations has the same values. Indeed, each configuration has the
same initial angle between the inclined walls and X-axis, defined as θ. Considering
Eq. (2), the Poisson’s ratio depends only on the cell wall’s aspect ratio α = h/l
which is the same for all configurations and equal to 1.28. Figure 6(b) shows the
Young’s modulus of the different auxetic structures. Results are in close agreement.
Increasing the density leads to an increase in the rigidity of the auxetic structure.
The minor difference between results can be explained by the several hypotheses
uses in the analytical model to simplify the actual one. Moreover, the finite element
analysis considers the material to be quasi-homogenous which is not the case in
reality. Also, the 3D printing technology can produce variability in the auxetic

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structure. Likewise, the experimental tensile tests are performed with imprecise
clamping boundary conditions which can contribute to the results.

3.3. Bending performance of sandwich composites

As we know, sandwich composites are subjected to bending loading. Experimental
tests and finite element simulations are used to determine the bending behavior
of the 3D printed sandwich composites with different relative core densities. Each
configuration is tested in three-point bending with a span length of 110 mm. Figure 7
presents the experimental bending characteristics of sandwich beams with different
relative core densities (each configuration is tested several times to guarantee the
repeatability of the results). Specimens exhibit the same behavior. Each curve can
be divided into three parts. A linear part, a nonlinear part and failure that represents

280 280
240 240
200 200
160 160
Load P [N]
Load P [N]

120 120
80 80
40 40
0 0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Deflection W [mm] Deflection W [mm]

(a) (b)

280 320
240 280

200 240
200
160
Load P [N]

Load P [N]

160
120
120
80 80
40 40
0 0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Deflection W [mm] Deflection W [mm]

(c) (b)

Fig. 7. Bending characteristic of sandwich beams with different relative core densities: (a) 8.3%;
(b) 16.7%; (c) 25.1% and (d) 33.5%.

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320
280
240
Load P [N]
200
160
FEM
120 1 cell
80 2 cells
40 3 cells
4 cells
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Deflection [mm]

(a)

(b)

Fig. 8. (a) Bending characteristic of sandwich beams with different relative core densities from
experimental tests and finite element simulations and (b) deformed shape of the auxetic beam.

the linear, nonlinear and failure behavior of the sandwich, respectively. Considering
the deflection of the specimens at failure, it can be seen that sandwiches with high
relative core density presents the largest bending deflection and the highest loading
forces and stiffness.
Figure 8 presents the experimental results and the numerical prediction of the
load-deflection curves obtained for different core density as well as the deformed
shape of the auxetic beam. For the four sandwich beams, there is a close agree-
ment between experimental measurements and finite element results. Initially, for
each configuration, a linear elastic domain extends up to a deflection of about 5 mm.
Then, a shorter nonlinear behavior is noticed up to failure. The deflection of a sand-
wich composite is made up of bending and shear components. Bending deflection is
dependent on the properties of the skins: the tensile and compressive modulus. On
the other hand, shear deflection is dependent on the shear modulus of the sandwich

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core. Under three-point bending tests, the equation representing the deflection W
with the applied load P , for a sandwich composite with a honeycomb core and for
a simple supported beam with central load, is given by [ASTM C393/C393M]:

W d2 1
= + , (3.1)
Pd 48D 4N
where d is the span length, D the bending stiffness, N the shear stiffness.
Considering Eq. (3.1), the bending stiffness D and the shear stiffness N can
be determined from the linear equation W/P d = f (d2 ). Therefore, sandwich beams
were tested in their elastic domain varying the span length from 100 mm to 240 mm.
The evolution of W/(P d) as a function of the square of the span length d2 is plotted
and fitted by a linear equation. According to Eq. (3.1), the bending and shear
stiffness are deduced from the slope of the linear fitting curve and the interception
point, respectively.
Also, the bending and the shear stiffness can be calculated as [ASTM
C393/C393M]:

bE f tf (tf + tc )2
D= , (3.2)
2
N = b(tf + tc )Gc . (3.3)

tf and tc are the skin and the core thickness, respectively, and b is the width of the
beam. According to Eqs. (3.2) and (3.3), the Young’s modulus of the skins Ef , the
shear modulus of the auxetic core Gc , the bending stiffness D and the shear stiffness
N for every sandwich configuration are calculated (Table 3). The Young’s modulus
of the skins is close to the Young’s modulus measured for the PFF material under
tensile tests.
Three-point bending tests are performed on the sandwich beams with different
core densities. The span length d is equal to 110 mm and the failure characteristics
are evaluated. The facing bending stress σf of the sandwich beams is given by
[ASTM C393/C393M]:

Pd
σf = , (3.4)
4btf (tf + tc )

Table 3. 3D printed sandwich structure properties under bending tests.

Relative core Bending stiffness Shear stiffness Young’s modulus Shear modulus of
density (%) D (N · mm2 ) N (N) of the skins core the auxetic
Ef (MPa) Gc (MPa)
8.3 1.03 × 106 5.7 × 103 2.3 × 103 38
16.7 1.1 × 106 1.6 × 104 2.4 × 103 106
25.1 1.2 × 106 1.9 × 104 2.7 × 103 129
33.5 1.3 × 106 2.8 × 104 2.8 × 103 187

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60 1.2

50

Core stress τc [MPa]

Facing stress σf [MPa]

0.9
40

30 0.6

20
0.3
10

0 0
0.05 0.15 0.25 0.35 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35
Relative density ρ/ρs Relative density ρ/ρs

(a) (b)

Fig. 9. (a) Facing stress and (b) core stress of the sandwich composite as a function of the different
relative core density.

where P present the peak load in static bending tests. Moreover, the core shear
stress τc is calculated by [ASTM C393/C393M]:

P
τc = . (3.5)
2b(tf + tc )

Figure 9 shows the experimental results obtained for sandwiches with different rel-
ative core densities. As the relative density of the auxetic structure increases from
8.3% to 33.5%, the facing bending stress and the core shear stress increase by
about 35%. Interpolating experimental results with a polynomial fitting curves, we
can determine the equation that connects the facing bending stress and the core
shear stress with the density of the core. The equations are expressed by:
2  
ρ ρ
σf = −186.2 + 148.27 + 22.55, (3.6)
ρs ρs
 2  
ρ ρ
τc = −3.38 + 2.69 + 0.41. (3.7)
ρs ρs

The constants presented in Eqs. (3.6) and (3.7) are determined experimentally.
It is essential to determine the effect of the variation in the core density on the
mechanical properties of the sandwich composite. Figure 10 presents the correlation
of the sandwich structure to the different mechanical properties: the facing bend-
ing stress, the cores shear stress, the bending stiffness, the shear stiffness and the
stiffness. Values have been normalized following those of the sandwich with high-
est density (33.5%). It is clearly seen that the sandwich composites with high core
densities display high mechanical properties. The parameter most affected by the
core density is the shear stiffness N and the shear modulus Gc . Indeed, a small
increase in the relative core density (from 8.3% to 16.7%) notably increases the

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Facing stress
1
0.8
Shear modulus Gc 0.6 Core stress
0.4
0.2
0

Young's modulus Ef Bending stiffness D

Shear stiffness N
ρ/ρs = 8.3% ρ/ρs = 16.7% ρ/ρs = 25.1% ρ/ρs = 33.5%

Fig. 10. Mechanical properties of the sandwich structure.

shear stiffness and modulus by about 64%. It should be noted that these results are
true for a span length d of 110 mm. If we change it, the result changes because the
three-point bending tests are sensitive to the length between supports d.

4. Failure Mechanism of the Sandwich and Its Components

Macroscopic and microscopic analyzes of the failure mechanisms are performed for
each category of sample broken by tensile or bending. Microscopic analysis is per-
formed by the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) in order to detect the mecha-
nisms leading to the damage. On the other hand, AE is used to detect the initiation
of damage. The following sections describe the failure mechanisms of skin, auxetic
cells and sandwich composite by combining SEM and AE for all quasi-static tensile
and bending tests.

4.1. Failure mechanism of the skins under tensile tests

Tests are carried out to determine the damage mechanism of the dogbone speci-
mens during tensile tests. Even low signals that indicate invisible damage can be
detected by the highly sensitive sensors used. Figure 11 presents the evolution of the
applied load over time combined with AE data points. The signals acquired during
tensile tests have amplitudes which vary between 40 dB and 75 dB. The analysis of
the results obtained show that the evolution of the applied load and the acoustic
activities takes place in two phases. The first phase is characterized by low acous-
tic activity in which the amplitude data points range from 40 dB to 50 dB. This
phase represents the initiation of non-visible damage. Therefore, at this stage, the
specimens offer high resistance. When damage starts in the specimens, force values
become constant denoting the beginning of the necking zone. Above this point, it
should be noted that amplitude data points increase from about 50 dB to 75 dB. It

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75 1600

Peak amplitude [dB]

65 1200

Load [N]
55 800

45 400

35 0
0 30 60 90 120 150 180
Time [s]

Fig. 11. Load versus Time and AE data points of the skins.

declares the beginning of the second phase. It is characterized by a strong acoustic

activity whose amplitude signal is between 50 dB and 75 dB. It appears frequently
at specimen failure which indicates the total fracture of the specimen and signals
the end of the test.
Figure 12 presents the dogbone specimen after breakage in the center of the
gauge length of the specimen. The dogbone presents a failure in the middle of the
specimen which confirms the validity of the results found. SEM is performed on
the cross-section of the dogbone specimen under standard tensile test. It shows the
presence of several cracks in the PLA matrix and it corresponds to invisible damage
initiation (amplitude data points for AEs between 40 dB and 50 dB). Also, we can
observe the presence of the micro-fiber matrix debonding which corresponds to visi-
ble damage propagation (amplitude data points for AEs between 50 dB and 75 dB).

Matrix cracking

Fiber/Matrix
debonding

Fig. 12. Macroscopic and SEM observations of failure profiles of the skins.

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4.2. Failure mechanism of the auxetic structure under tensile tests

Tensile tests on the auxetic structure is carried out with AE data points. Because
of the large porosity in the auxetic structure with the lowest density (1 cell), it is
impossible to implement the AE sensors. That is why we are limited to the other
densities (16.7%, 25.1%, 33.5%). Figure 13 presents the evolution of the applied
load over time combined with AE data points. Firstly, it is clearly seen that the
number of hits observed with the auxetic structure is larger than those observed with
the dogbone (Fig. 11). Indeed, the auxetic structure material undergoes significant
deformation along its transverse direction: the absolute transverse deformation is
2.7 times the longitudinal deformation. The inclined cells walls undergo flexural
deformation comparing to the vertical cell walls. The vertical cell walls undergo only
a translation in the direction perpendicular to the applied load. The combination of
these deformations of the cell walls causes an increase in the volume of the materials

75 85
420 600
75
Peak amplitude [dB]

360
Peak amplitude [dB]

65 500
300 400
65

Load [N]
Load [N]

55 240
300
180 55
200
45 120
45
60 100

35 0 35 0
0 30 60 90 120 150 180 210 240 0 30 60 90 120 150
Time [s] Time [s]

(a) (b)

85

800
75
Peak amplitude [dB]

65 600
Load [N]

55 400

45 200

35 0
0 30 60 90 120
Time [s]

(c)

Fig. 13. Load versus Time and AE data points of the auxetic structure with different relative
densities: (a) 16.7%; (b) 25.1% and (c) 33.5%.

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Fig. 14. Macroscopic and SEM observations of failure profiles of the auxetic structure.

following the tensile test. Auxetic structures with a high number of cells suffer more
damage during the tensile test (the number of hits in samples with high number of
cells is larger than that with low number of cells) which leads to faster failure than
other structures. Indeed, the increase of the cell walls leads to increased sensitive
parts to be damaged.
Figure 14 presents the auxetic structure after breakage at the macroscopic and
microscopic scale. Failure of the specimens following a tensile test is performed at
an inclination of 45◦ : shearing. SEM is performed on the cross-section of the auxetic
structure. Cracking occurs between the vertical and inclined cell walls. The layer of
the printed material is clearly observed in the figure. The break between the two
cell walls explains the large number of events found using AE. Indeed, tearing of
the printed layers during the test generates firstly invisible damage. This explains
the enormous number of hits with an amplitude between 40 dB and 50 dB. When
micro-damage accumulates between the layers, we observe the total break of the
printed filament. At this moment, we are facing visible damage with an amplitude
data points for AEs between 50 dB and 85 dB.

4.3. Failure mechanism of the sandwich composite

under bending tests
Figure 15 shows the average load-time curve with AE hits for the sandwich
composite with different core densities. It is found that all sandwich configura-
tions undergo the same load-time curve shape as well as the appearance of AE data
during bending tests. The difference is observed at the maximum load supported by

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75 200 75
200

Peak amplitude [dB]

65 150 65
Peak amplitude [dB]

150

Load [N]

Load [N]
55 100 55 100

45 50 45 50

35 0 35 0
0 30 60 90 120 150 0 50 100 150 200 250 300
Time [s] Time [s]

(a) (b)

75 85 300
250
75 250
65 200
Peak amplitude [dB]

peak amplitude [dB]

200
65
Load [N]

Load [N]
150
55 150
100 55
100
45
50 45 50

35 0 35 0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 80 160 240 320 400 480
Time [s] Time [s]

(c) (d)

Fig. 15. Load versus Time and AE data points of sandwich composites with different relative
core densities: (a) 8.3%; (b) 16.7%; (c) 25.1% and (d) 33.5%.

the sandwich. When the density of the auxetic core increases, the maximum load
increases too. It is noted that the number of AE data points is higher at the end of
the test which predict the core fails. It is also noted that the beginning of the auxetic
core failure happens with a constant maximum load. The signals acquired during
bending tests have amplitudes varying between 40 dB and 85 dB. Damage initiation
is characterized by low acoustic amplitude (between 40 dB and 50 dB) corresponds
to crack initiation in the bottom skin. Then, damage propagation in the core struc-
ture combined with skin core debonding is characterized by AE amplitudes varying
between 50 dB and 85 dB.
SEM is performed on the specimen during standard bending tests. Failure is
observed in both skins and core as cracking and debonding between skin and core
structure as shown in Fig. 16. At the beginning of the bending test, there is a crack-
ing in the bottom skin. Then, the crack propagates to the auxetic core. And at the
end of the test, debonding appears between the bottom skin and the core structure.

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Core-skin debonding

Skin cracking

Core cracking

Fig. 16. Macroscopic and SEM observations of failure profiles of the sandwich composite.

SEM has proven useful in many previous studies, to the extent that it can allow
us to closely observe the property damage of the material studied at the microscopic
level. Furthermore, this technique gives us the ability to the examine the material
structure after the 3D printing, so the ability to detect the exact defect, such as
fiber-matrix flaws. This combination of SEM and AE techniques is successful since
it provides great insight into the way things happen and the flaws in the material
that cause structural damage. As a result, we can tackle these problems earlier thus,
further improving overall material performance.

5. Conclusion
Bio-based sandwich composites with auxetic cores produced using additive manu-
facturing technology (3D printing) have been studied. Skins, re-entrant honeycomb
and the whole sandwich are manufactured from the same biological material which
is a tape of PLA reinforced with flax fibers (<20%). Four core densities are selected
to study the effect of such parameters on the mechanical performance of the sand-
wich composites. Under uniaxial tensile tests, the re-entrant honeycomb displays
auxetic behavior as expected. The experimental Poisson’s ratio for each configura-
tion is consistent with both theoretical and finite elements prediction. Three-point
bending tests are conducted and the bending stiffness, shear stiffness and shear
modulus are evaluated for these sandwich composites with different core densities.
Moreover, finite elements analysis is done. The experimental and numerical results
show very close agreement. Under bending, sandwich composites with high core den-
sities show high mechanical properties in terms of bending stiffness, shear stiffness,
facing bending stress and core shear stress.

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To further advance in this study, we apply a damage monitoring approach using

an AEs technique to monitor damage initiation and propagation in the skins, the
auxetic core and the whole sandwich. A cluster of low amplitude AE (between
40 dB and 50 dB) indicates unobservable minor damage initiation. High-amplitude
AE indicates visible damage propagation in the specimen up to failure. As a result,
it is proven that a damage monitoring approach can predict damage and failure
mechanisms in materials manufactured by 3D printing.

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