Face/core debond toughness, expressed as the critical strain energy release rate, (G_c), was determined for sandwich specimens with composite and aluminum face sheets over various cross-linked PVC foam cores. A postmortem fracture investigation of fractured specimens using an optical and scanning electron microscope revealed that crack propagation occurred in the core, near the face/core interface. The face/core debond toughness increased with increasing foam density, and decreasing core thickness. For thick cores, the face/core toughness was independent of the core thickness.
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