Technology Opportunities

Vehicles (marine, air, rail) and the building industry, among others, use sandwich panels: laminated composites containing two stiff skins and a light-density core. To prevent delamination (structural failure) the two skins are normally stitched onto the core. However, the resin used to fill the gaps formed due to stitching considerably increases the panel's weight. This invention suggests the use of light density foam based on expandable microspheres as a replacement for excessive amounts of resin injected, significantly reducing the overall panel weight.