Sandwich panels in shipbuilding

In this paper a short historical outline of laser technique development and its application to welding sandwich panels, is presented. Laser-welded sandwich panels of different geometry, today introduced in industrial scale, were described. Prefabrication process of folded ship constructions, in particular, of panel-to-panel connections and hybrid (sandwich panel – conventional construction) structures, was discussed. Attention was paid to various aspects of prefabrication, assembly and use of panel constructions.