Flexural behavior of 3D printed honeycomb sandwich structures with waste filler material

Abstract In this study, the flexural behavior of filled and unfilled honeycomb structures was experimentally examined. As filler material, waste materials of the furniture and marble industry were used. In this context, effects of the wastes of the furniture industry (i. e., pine sawdust) and of the marble industry (i. e., travertine powder) on the flexural behaviors of honeycomb structures were investigated by the three point flexural test. Honeycomb specimens were produced by using PLA plastic material in a 3D printer by rapid prototyping techniques. By changing cell sizes of the honeycomb structures used in the flexural tests, the relation between the waste filler materials and the cell size was also investigated. The flexural behavior of unfilled honeycomb specimens was at maximum for the specimens with small cell size. In the honeycomb structures filled with waste material, it was determined that the flexural loads of small cell sized specimens were decreased by approx. 10 % while the flexural loads of big cell sized specimens were increased by approx. 10 %. As a result, it was found that the flexural behavior of unfilled honeycomb structures with big cells which have low flexural behavior could be increased using waste filler material.