Plastic Performance and Coordinated Design of Surface-Reinforced Sandwich Beams

Abstract

In this work, a surface-reinforced sandwich configuration with variable material layer is proposed to improve the plastic performance of sandwich structures in limited-space with the least cost, which is promoted by the hierarchy of human bone with multi-stiff layers outside the cellular core. First, a generalized yielding criterion and an analytical model for the large deflection of the fully clamped surface-reinforced sandwich beams under transverse loading are developed. Then, the comparison between finite element (FE) simulations and experimental results for surface-reinforced sandwich beams with varied geometric and physical properties of each material layers is presented, which verifies the accuracy of the theoretical solutions. Finally, the coordinated design of the surface-reinforced sandwich beam in limited-space is investigated and the synergistic effects of each material layer on the load carrying and energy absorption ability of the structure are discussed in detail. The results given in this paper provide theoretical guidance in plastic design of sandwich structures with multi-cover sheets as well as the selection of the face-sheet, the core and the reinforced skin.