1.1 This test method covers the determination of shear properties of sandwich construction core materials associated with shear distortion of planes parallel to the facings. It covers the determination of shear strength parallel to the plane of the sandwich, and the shear modulus associated with strains in a plane normal to the facings. The test may be conducted on core materials bonded directly to the loading plates or the sandwich facings bonded to the plates. 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 Units—The values stated in either SI units or inchpound units are to be regarded separately as standard. The values stated in each system are not necessarily exact equivalents; therefore, to ensure conformance with the standard, each system shall be used independently of the other, and values from the two systems shall not be combined.
1.2.1 Within the text, the inch-pound units are shown in brackets.
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, health, and environmental practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.
1.4 This international standard was developed in accordance with internationally recognized principles on standardization established in the Decision on Principles for the Development of International Standards, Guides and Recommendations issued by the World Trade Organization Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee.
ASTM C273/C273M-20 Referenced Document
ASTM C271/C271M Standard Test Method for Density of Sandwich Core Materials
ASTM C393 Standard Test Method for Flexural Properties of Sandwich Constructions
ASTM D2584 Standard Test Method for Ignition Loss of Cured Reinforced Resins
ASTM D2734 Standard Test Methods for Void Content of Reinforced Plastics
ASTM D3171 Standard Test Methods for Constituent Content of Composite Materials
ASTM D3878 Standard Terminology Composite Materials
ASTM D5229/D5229M Standard Test Method for Moisture Absorption Properties and Equilibrium Conditioning of Polymer Matrix Composite Materials
ASTM D5687/D5687M Standard Guide for Preparation of Flat Composite Panels with Processing Guidelines for Specimen Preparation
ASTM D5961/D5961M Standard Test Method for Bearing Response of Polymer Matrix Composite Laminates
ASTM D792 Standard Test Methods for Density and Specific Gravity (Relative Density) of Plastics by Displacement
ASTM D883 Standard Terminology Relating to Plastics
ASTM E122 Standard Practice for Calculating Sample Size to Estimate, With a Specified Tolerable Error, the Average for Characteristic of a Lot or Process
ASTM E177 Standard Practice for Use of the Terms Precision and Bias in ASTM Test Methods
ASTM E4 Standard Practices for Force Verification of Testing Machines
ASTM E456 Standard Terminology for Relating to Quality and Statistics
ASTM E6 Standard Terminology Relating to Methods of Mechanical Testing
ASTM C273/C273M-20 history
2020ASTM C273/C273M-20 Standard Test Method for Shear Properties of Sandwich Core Materials
2019ASTM C273/C273M-19 Standard Test Method for Shear Properties of Sandwich Core Materials
2018ASTM C273/C273M-18 Standard Test Method for Shear Properties of Sandwich Core Materials
2016ASTM C273/C273M-16 Standard Test Method for Shear Properties of Sandwich Core Materials
2011ASTM C273/C273M-11 Standard Test Method for Shear Properties of Sandwich Core Materials
2007ASTM C273/C273M-07a Standard Test Method for Shear Properties of Sandwich Core Materials
2007ASTM C273/C273M-07 Standard Test Method for Shear Properties of Sandwich Core Materials
2006ASTM C273/C273M-06 Standard Test Method for Shear Properties of Sandwich Core Materials
2000ASTM C273-00e1 Standard Test Method for Shear Properties of Sandwich Core Materials