CORED COMPOSITE BEAM SET - FOR BEAM APPARATUS
Composite materials with specific properties are common in many industries such as aerospace, automotive,sports and civil engineering. Cored composite materials are lightweight,stiff and strong. They have good fatigue and impact resistance. Their properties can be tailored to match the specific needs of end users by changing constituent material types and manufacturing parameters.
For cored composite materials, a variety of carbon fibre architectures can be obtained by sandwiching a lightweight material with a composite skin. This reduces weight and cost with only a small compromise on stiffness.
The combination of materials used results in a specific configuration of mechanical and performance properties of the resulting composites and determines the end use possibilities.
The beams in the Cored Composite Beam Set have been designed to introduce students to the properties of cored beams and their construction.

The beam types included in the basic kits are:
• Foam core beam with 3.2 mm thick foam layer
• Foam core beam with 3.8 mm thick foam layer
• Honeycomb core beam with 3.2 mm honeycomb layer
• Solid carbon composite beam
All beams are bonded with epoxy resin.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
• Introduction to cored composites
• Introduction to diff erent core materials
• Benefits of cored composites
• Determination of flexural rigidity and Young’s modulus
• Comparison of different core materials
• Comparison of different core / skin thicknesses
• Comparison of cored beam with solid composite beam
• Deflection of cored composite beams