Thermomechanical characterization of a balsa-wood-veneer structural sandwich core material at elevated temperatures

The tensile, compressive and shear behavior of standardized specimens cut from a veneered balsa wood used as structural sandwich core was investigated at ambient temperatures of up to 250 °C. The average moisture content was 9.1%. The specimens’ responses were strongly affected by the configuration of the veneer layers. Specimens with a higher number of 0° veneer layers in the loading direction exhibited higher strength and stiffness at each...