AMU Secures DRDO-Funded Project on Advanced Composite Sandwich Structures

Published date:27/04/2026 | Last updated date:27/04/2026

Aligarh Muslim University has secured a new ₹72.68 lakh research project funded by the Aeronautics Research and Development Board, DRDO, focused on advanced composite sandwich structures for aerospace and defence applications.

The project, titled “Fracture Characterisation of GFRP Skin with Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) and Syntactic Foam Core Sandwich Structures,” will be led by Dr. Azhar Jamil as Principal Investigator, with Dr. Yasser Rafat as Co-Principal Investigator.

Building on earlier DRDO-backed research

The new project follows AMU’s successful completion of a previous ₹35.5 lakh DRDO-funded study on fatigue behaviour in honeycomb core sandwich structures.

That earlier work, supervised by Dr. Azhar Jamil and Dr. S. M. Yahya from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, ZHCET, contributed to improved understanding of:

• fatigue crack growth
• structural reliability
• aerospace sandwich component performance

The study also gained international recognition, including citation by NASA Langley Research Centre.

Focus on fracture behaviour in next-generation materials

The newly sanctioned project will examine the fracture behaviour of GFRP skin sandwich structures using:

• PVC foam core
• syntactic foam core

These materials are increasingly relevant in lightweight aerospace and defence structures where engineers must balance:

• strength
• weight reduction
• damage tolerance
• long-term reliability

Why composite sandwich structures matter

Composite sandwich structures are widely used in aerostructures because they offer high stiffness and strength at relatively low weight. However, their performance depends heavily on how skins, cores, and interfaces respond under stress.

Fracture characterisation is especially important because failure can occur through:

• skin cracking
• core damage
• delamination
• skin-core debonding

Understanding these mechanisms helps engineers design safer, lighter, and more durable aerospace components.

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Editorial perspective

This project is significant because it moves beyond basic material testing into a more critical question: how advanced sandwich structures fail under real engineering conditions.

For aerospace and defence, lightweight materials are only valuable when their damage behaviour is predictable.

AMU’s continued DRDO-backed research suggests growing confidence in its capability to contribute to India’s advanced composites knowledge base, particularly in areas linked to structural reliability and future aerostructure development.