Anyone who has seen recent footage of the Velux 5 Oceans Race - or even sailed around the buoys in a local fleet race - can attest to the fact that sailing yachts live in a world that is far from static. Similarly, sportsfisher motorboats and patrol craft crash through waves on a daily basis. The current scantling codes used in the design of these vessels are based on the application of uniformly distributed quasi-static pressures on shell panels - a loading scenario that is far from reality.
At High Modulus we have been involved with the composite structural design of sailing and motor yachts of all shapes and sizes for over twenty years. We understand, therefore, that it is not sufficient for these vessels simply to be designed to meet a rule - rather it is necessary that they are fit for purpose. And this means taking into consideration the actual conditions that the yacht will face.Sandwich panels are widely used within the marine industry as the primary hull shell structure, yet core shear can be experienced when vessels are subjected to high slamming loads. For this reason, we set about determining how dynamic and high strain-rate loading affects various sandwich core materials, and how this compares with the behavioural assumptions of uniformly distributed quasi-static pressure.
Click here to download full High Modulus Technical Note 2
| 
