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Low-speed impact damage sensing in aircraft radomes via gold nanofilm-integrated nomex honeycomb core sandwich composites
Marawan, Rohayem Ashraf Anwar Saad Elsayed
Marawan, Rohayem Ashraf Anwar Saad Elsayed
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2025-12-01
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This research focused on developing and evaluating a multifunctional Nomex honeycomb core sandwich composite with polypropylene/ E-glass commingled face sheet co-cured with a 12-karat white gold metallic nanofilm. The motivation for this work stems from the need for lightweight, impact resistant, and electromagnetically transparent materials for aircraft radome applications, while also integrating electrical conductivity for lighting strike protection and real-time structural health monitoring. A custom 3D printed honeycomb cutting jig was designed and fabricated using SLA printing to achieve repeatable, damage free cutting of Nomex honeycomb blocks. Sandwich panels were produced using a vacuum bagging method, where the commingled thermoplastic matrix melted and impregnated the E-glass fibers and bonded directly to the honeycomb core. A comprehensive set of tests including tensile testing, three point bending tests, drop weight impact with real time voltage monitoring, FTIR, water contact angle, laser confocal microscopy and SEM were conducted to test the structural behavior of the composite and the influence of the integrated gold nanofilm. The gold film significantly reduced the roughness across all magnifications, reducing Ra by 40-80%. The gold nanofilm also shifted the surface from hydrophilic (54°-57°) to hydrophobic (92°-95°) confirming that the film bonded smoothly and continuously to the face sheets. Mechanical testing showed that the PP/E-glass laminates achieved a tensile strength between 14 and 20 ksi and a flexural strength of 61 to 86 MPa that matched the expected values of thermoplastic-based composites. Low speed drop-weight impact testing showed that despite complete penetration, the gold film remained continuous and recovered its original voltage after a sharp nanosecond scale spike and damping oscillations. These findings support future development of radome structures where health monitoring is possible and enabling real-time detection of deformation events. The novelty of this work lies in demonstrating a measurable voltage response to the impact at an approximate 900 ns timescale.
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Thesis (M.S.)-- Wichita State University, College of Engineering, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering
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Wichita State University
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© Copyright 2025 by Marawan Ashraf Anwar Saad Elsayed Rohayem
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