Dimensional changes and sound absorption properties of a new aluminum-foam core plywood

Aluminium foams have been developed during the 80’s and their first use as a core in wood-based sandwich panels are relatively recent, dating back to the 90’s. These products achieve good mechanical performances and can be suitable for high challenging applications, such as marine or aviation constructions. Nevertheless their use is still limited, mainly due to their high costs. Besides cost reduction, a comprehensive knowledge of the physical properties is necessary in order to promote their use and find optimal final destinations. Thus, recently a characterization project aimed to evaluate several physical-mechanical properties of a sandwich panel having okoumé plywood skins and a closed-cell aluminium foam core was started. After a brief overview of the panel composition and its mechanical properties, the paper focuses on the determination of dimensional changes and sound absorption properties.