The paper presents a general introduction to a new class of core material for fiber-reinforced composite sandwich panel construction. The material, soon to enter commercial production, is referred to as a fiber-reinforced-foam (FRF) core and has the trade name TYCOR{sup}?. The general design features of TYCOR are described and manufacturing methods are outlined. The manufacture of molded composite sandwich panels using TYCOR is discussed. The engineering properties of TYCOR are compared with other core materials including end-grain balsa and Rohacell. TYCOR is found to provide engineering properties competitive with or superior to other popular core materials. TYCOR works very well in the VARTM molding process, and offers a new approach for the rapid infusion of panels without the need for large quantities of single-use resin distribution media.
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