ASTM C364/C364M-07(2012) - 1.8.2012
 
Significance and Use

The edgewise compressive strength of short sandwich construction specimens provides a basis for judging the load-carrying capacity of the construction in terms of developed facing stress.

This test method provides a standard method of obtaining sandwich edgewise compressive strengths for panel design properties, material specifications, research and development applications, and quality assurance.

The reporting section requires items that tend to influence edgewise compressive strength to be reported; these include materials, fabrication method, facesheet lay-up orientation (if composite), core orientation, results of any nondestructive inspections, specimen preparation, test equipment details, specimen dimensions and associated measurement accuracy, environmental conditions, speed of testing, failure mode, and failure location.

 
1. Scope

1.1 This test method covers the compressive properties of structural sandwich construction in a direction parallel to the sandwich facing plane. Permissible core material forms include those with continuous bonding surfaces (such as balsa wood and foams) as well as those with discontinuous bonding surfaces (such as honeycomb).

1.2 The values stated in either SI units or inch-pound units are to be regarded separately as standard. Within the text the inch-pound units are shown in brackets. The values stated in each system are not exact equivalents; therefore, each system must be used independently of the other. Combining values from the two systems may result in nonconformance with the standard.

1.3 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.

 
2. Referenced Documents

D3039/D3039M-17(2025)

Standard Test Method for Tensile Properties of Polymer Matrix Composite Materials

D883-26b

Standard Terminology Relating to Plastics (Includes all amendments and changes 8/24/2026).

E456-13a(2022)e1

Standard Terminology Relating to Quality and Statistics (Includes all amendments and changes 4/16/2024).

E177-26a

Standard Practice for Use of the Terms Precision and Bias in ASTM Test Methods (Includes all amendments and changes 5/14/2026).

E122-17(2022)

Standard Practice for Calculating Sample Size to Estimate, With Specified Precision, the Average for a Characteristic of a Lot or Process

E6-25

Standard Terminology Relating to Methods of Mechanical Testing

D5229/D5229M-20

Standard Test Method for Moisture Absorption Properties and Equilibrium Conditioning of Polymer Matrix Composite Materials

D2734-23

Standard Test Methods for Void Content of Reinforced Plastics

D2584-25

Standard Test Method for Ignition Loss of Cured Reinforced Resins

D3878-26

Standard Terminology for Composite Materials

D5687/D5687M-20

Standard Guide for Preparation of Flat Composite Panels with Processing Guidelines for Specimen Preparation

D3171-22

Standard Test Methods for Constituent Content of Composite Materials

E4-24

Standard Practices for Force Calibration and Verification of Testing Machines

D792-20

Standard Test Methods for Density and Specific Gravity (Relative Density) of Plastics by Displacement

E1012-19

Standard Practice for Verification of Testing Frame and Specimen Alignment Under Tensile and Compressive Axial Force Application