by KCStudly » Tue Nov 12, 2024 1:59 pm
Foam really shouldn't be thought of as a critical structural element, except for the shear bond between panel skins. In this case the area is relatively large, so the glue joint strength can be relatively weak per square inch because there are enough square inches to satisfy the loading requirements. Butt joints between foam pieces will only ever be as strong as the foam itself. The strength of a foam panel, or SIP, comes from the skins and how far apart the inner skin is from the outer skin. The foam only has to separate the skins and keep them from buckling (and the internal cabinets and bulkheads mostly take the buckling loads, so again, we can get away with using foam as our core).
Try to break a butt joint of foam over your knee and it breaks immediately next to the glue joint. Try to peel glued canvas up off of the surface of a foam panel and it peels right up like it's barely attached, breaking the surface granules of foam just under the glue joint. This peeling load is a point load, or line of contact without much area, so it doesn't take much force. But try to shove or pull a glued canvas sideways off of a panel of foam (ala pulling the tablecloth out from under the place settings) and you will understand the useful shear strength that I speak of much better.
KC
My Build:
The Poet Creek Express Hybrid Foamie
Poet Creek Or Bust
Engineering the TLAR way - "That Looks About Right"
TnTTT ORIGINAL 200A LANTERN CLUB = "The 200A Gang"Green Lantern Corpsmen