Exact analytical solutions for the local and global buckling of sandwich beam-columns under various loadings

Sandwich structures are widely used in many industrial applications, due to the attractive combination of a lightweight and strong mechanical properties. This compromise is realized thanks to the presence of different parts in the composite material, namely the skins and possibly core reinforcements or thin-walled core structure which are both thin/slender and stiff relative to the other parts, namely the homogeneous core material, if any. The buckling phenomenon thus becomes mainly responsible for the final collapse of such sandwiches. In this paper, classical sandwich beam-columns (with homogeneous core materials) are considered and elastic buckling analyses are performed in order to derive the critical values and the associated bifurcation modes under various loadings (compression and pure bending). The two faces are represented by Euler–Bernoulli beams, whereas the core material is considered as a 2D continuous solid. A set of partial differential equations is first obtained from a general bifurcation analysis, using the above assumptions. Original closed-form analytical solutions of the critical loading and mode of a sandwich beam-column are then derived for various loading conditions. Finally, the proposed analytical formulae are validated using 2D linearized buckling finite element computations, and parametric analyses are performed.     

Comparative studies of localized buckling in sandwich struts with different core bending models

Analytical models with geometric non-linearities accounting for interactions between local and global instability modes leading to localized buckling in sandwich struts are formulated. For the core material response, two increasingly sophisticated bending models are compared against each other: Timoshenko beam theory (TBT) and Reddy-Bickford beam theory (RBT). Numerical solutions of the analytical models are validated with the commercial finite element code ABAQUS. It is found that there is a small but significant difference in the critical load between the two models and that the previously obtained solution slightly underestimates the linear buckling strength. More importantly, it is found that the RBT model predicts the onset of interactive buckling before the TBT model and, according to the results from the finite element study, matches the actual behaviour of a strut in both its initial and advanced post-buckling states with excellent correlation.     

Elastoplastic bifurcation and collapse of axially loaded cylindrical shells

In this paper, a shell finite element is designed within the total Lagrangian formulation framework to deal with the plastic buckling and post-buckling of thin structures, such as cylindrical shells. First, the numerical formulation is validated using available analytical results. Then it is shown to be able to provide the bifurcation modes—possibly the secondary ones—and describe the complex advanced post-critical state of a cylinder under axial compression, where the theory is no longer operative.     

On the plastic bifurcation and post-bifurcation of axially compressed beams

The paper presents two new results in the domain of the elastoplastic buckling and post-buckling of beams under axial compression. (i) First, the tangent modulus critical load, the buckling mode and the initial slope of the bifurcated branch are given for a Timoshenko beam (with the transverse shear effects). The result is derived from the 3D J₂ flow plastic bifurcation theory with the von Mises yield criterion and a linear isotropic hardening. (ii) Second, use is made of a specific method in order to provide the asymptotic expansion of the post-critical branch for a Euler-Bernoulli beam, exhibiting one new non-linear fractional term. All the analytical results are validated by finite element computations.     

Theoretical analysis of the deformation of SMP sandwich beam in flexure

Shape memory polymers (SMPs) can have a large frozen strain but with a very small recovery stiffness in comparison with shape memory metals or ceramics. To provide more deployable stresses for the application of actuators, sandwich beams consisting of a SMP core and two thin metallic skins were considered. The packaging behaviors of two types of SMP sandwich beams, aluminum/SMP/aluminum and steel/SMP/steel, were discussed. Due to the high compliance of SMP core on packaging condition that the testing temperature is above the activation temperature of the material, buckling and post-buckling are the essential deformation mechanisms of SMP sandwich beams under bending. Theoretical solutions were derived in studying such non-linear behaviors, including the initiation of critical buckling, post-buckling response, and final failure modes. Systematic parameter’s analyses, e.g., buckling half-wavelength, amplitude, location of the neutral-strain surface in different packaging curvatures, were also presented.     

Finite element analysis of post-buckling dynamics in plates—Part I: An asymptotic approach

Various static and dynamic aspects of post-buckled thin plates, including the transition of buckled patterns, post-buckling dynamics, secondary bifurcation, and dynamic snapping (mode jumping phenomenon), are investigated systematically using asymptotical and non-stationary finite element methods. In part I, the secondary dynamic instability and the local post-secondary buckling behavior of thin rectangular plates under generalized (mechanical and thermal) loading is investigated using an asymptotic numerical method which combines Koiter’s nonlinear instability theory with the finite element technique. A dynamic multi-mode reduction method—similar to its static single-mode counterpart: Liapunov–Schmidt reduction—is developed in this perturbation approach. Post-secondary buckling equilibrium branches are obtained by solving the reduced low-dimensional parametric equations and their stability properties are determined directly by checking the eigenvalues of the resulting Jacobian matrix. Typical post-secondary buckling forms—transcritical, supercritical and subcritical bifurcations are observed according to different combinations of boundary conditions and load types. Geometric imperfection analysis shows that not only the secondary bifurcation load but also changes in the fundamental post-secondary buckling behavior are affected. The post-buckling dynamics and the global analysis of mode jumping of the plates are addressed in part II.     

Interactive buckling in long thin-walled rectangular hollow section struts

An analytical model describing the nonlinear interaction between global and local buckling modes in long thin-walled rectangular hollow section struts under pure compression founded on variational principles is presented. A system of nonlinear differential and integral equations subject to boundary conditions is formulated and solved using numerical continuation techniques. For the first time, the equilibrium behaviour of such struts with different cross-section joint rigidities is highlighted with characteristically unstable interactive buckling paths and a progressive change in the local buckling wavelength. With increasing joint rigidity within the cross-section, the severity of the unstable post-buckling behaviour is shown to be mollified. The results from the analytical model are validated using a nonlinear finite element model developed within the commercial package Abaqus and show excellent comparisons. A simplified method to calculate the local buckling load of the more compressed web undergoing global buckling and the corresponding global mode amplitude at the secondary bifurcation is also developed. Parametric studies on the effect of varying the length and cross-section aspect ratio are also presented that demonstrate the effectiveness of the currently developed models.     

Nonlinear thermo-elastic buckling characteristics of cross-ply laminated joined conical–cylindrical shells

Here, the nonlinear thermo-elastic buckling/post-buckling characteristics of laminated circular conical–cylindrical/conical–cylindrical–conical joined shells subjected to uniform temperature rise are studied employing semi-analytical finite element approach. The nonlinear governing equations, considering geometric nonlinearity based on von Karman’s assumption for moderately large deformation, are solved using Newton–Raphson iteration procedure coupled with displacement control method to trace the pre-buckling/post-buckling equilibrium path. The presence of asymmetric perturbation in the form of small magnitude load spatially proportional to the linear buckling mode shape is assumed to initiate the bifurcation of the shell deformation. The study is carried out to highlight the influences of semi-cone angle, material properties and number of circumferential waves on the nonlinear thermo-elastic response of the different joined shell systems.     

周期结构后屈曲新算法及其应用

提出了周期结构后屈曲分析的一种新算法。在屈曲点附近,通过加载模型和诱导后屈曲边值问题之间的相互切换,避开屈曲点附近刚度矩阵的奇异性,并诱导结构产生预期的后屈曲变形,避免了以往后屈曲算法中引入几何初始缺陷后对系统带来的可能影响。通过对三种由超弹性材料所构成的周期孔隙结构的后屈曲分析,验证了本文所提出的后屈曲算法的有效性和灵活性。分析了周期孔隙材料多向加载对屈曲模式转换的影响,以及后屈曲变形对弹性波传播带隙的影响,为周期结构中弹性波传播的调控提供良好的基础。     

On axisymmetric/diamond-like mode transitions in axially compressed core–shell cylinders

Recent interests in curvature- and stress-induced pattern formation and pattern selection motivate the present study. Surface morphological wrinkling of a cylindrical shell supported by a soft core subjected to axial compression is investigated based on a nonlinear 3D finite element model. The post-buckling behavior of core–shell cylinders beyond the first bifurcation often leads to complicated responses with surface mode transitions. The proposed finite element framework allows predicting and tracing these bifurcation portraits from a quantitative standpoint. The occurrence and evolution of 3D instability modes including sinusoidally deformed axisymmetric patterns and non-axisymmetric diamond-like modes will be highlighted according to critical dimensionless parameters. Besides, the phase diagram obtained from dimensional analyses and numerical results could be used to guide the design of core–shell cylindrical systems to achieve the desired instability patterns.     

Global dynamics and integrity of a two-dof model of?a?parametrically excited cylindrical shell

In this paper the global dynamics and topological integrity of the basins of attraction of a parametrically excited cylindrical shell are investigated through a two-degree-of-freedom reduced order model. This model, as shown in previous authors?? works, is capable of describing qualitatively the complex nonlinear static and dynamic buckling behavior of the shell. The discretized model is obtained by employing Donnell shallow shell theory and the Galerkin method. The shell is subjected to an axial static pre-loading and then to a harmonic axial load. When the static load is between the buckling load and the minimum post-critical load, a three potential well is obtained. Under these circumstances the shell may exhibit pre- and post-buckling solutions confined to each of the potential wells as well as large cross-well motions. The aim of the paper is to analyze in a systematic way the bifurcation sequences arising from each of the three stable static solutions, obtaining in this way the parametric instability and escape boundaries. The global dynamics of the system is analyzed through the evolution of the various basins of attraction in the four-dimensional phase space. The concepts of safe basin and integrity measures quantifying its magnitude are used to obtain the erosion profile of the various solutions. A detailed parametric analysis shows how the basins of the various solutions interfere with each other and how this influences the integrity measures. Special attention is dedicated to the topological integrity of the various solutions confined to the pre-buckling well. This allows one to evaluate the safety and dynamic integrity of the mechanical system. Two characteristic cases, one associated with a sub-critical parametric bifurcation and another with a super-critical parametric bifurcation, are considered in the analysis.     

First applications of a novel unified model for global and local buckling of sandwich columns

Due to the intrinsic heterogeneity of sandwich structures, phenomena at various scales can co-exist in these layered-like assembly of thick-soft and thin-stiff materials. Especially under in-plane compression loadings, geometrical instabilities can occur at both global (structure) and local (skins) scales. Therefore, the in-plane compressive response of sandwich structures is of major concern in designing structural applications. In the present paper, the first applications of a novel unified model for sandwiches are presented, with closed-form solutions for both global and local buckling. For the perfect structure, analytical critical loads are extracted for a simply supported beam, through the calculation of two eigenvalues leading to three buckling modes: it appears that the eigenvalue associated with the antisymmetrical mode can correspond to the occurrence of either global or local (wrinkling) buckling. These global and local loads from the present unified model are shown to compare very well with the predictions given by the most complete specific models from the literature. Moreover, it is shown that conversely to the classical models, our approach yields critical loads that depend only on rigorous well-founded mechanical hypotheses. The simple but general analytical expressions from the unified model permit to select quickly configurations against local and global buckling. In this simplified framework, conclusions can be drawn from this unified model capable of properly predicting the phenomena at both scales. This simplified study is essential in getting an insight in the role played by each geometrical and material parameter, the combination of which is of importance for subsequent non-linear interactive post-buckling analyses (Léotoing et al., 2001).     

Elasto-plastic buckling and post-buckling analysis of sandwich plates with functionally graded metal-metal face sheets and interfacial damage简

Based on the elasto-plastic theory, considering the effect of spherical stress tensor on the elasto-plastic deformation and using the slicing treatment to deal with the plasticity of functionally graded coatings, the elasto-plastic increment constitutive equations of the sandwich plates with functionally graded metal-metal face sheets can be derived. Applying the weak bonded theory to the interfacial constitutive relation and taking into account the geometric nonlinearity, the nonlinear increment differential equilibrium equations of the sandwich plates with functionally graded metal-metal face sheets are obtained by the minimum potential energy principle. The finite difference method and the iterative method are used to obtain the post-buckling path. When the effect of geometrical nonlinearity of the plate is ignored, the elasto-plastic critical buckling load of the sandwich plates with functionally graded metal-metal face sheets can be solved by the Galerkin method and the iterative method. In the numerical examples, the effects of the interface damages, the induced load ratio, the functionally graded index, and the geometry parameters on the elasto-plastic post-buckling path and the elasto-plastic critical buckling load are investigated.     

Classical and nonlinear buckling analyses of spherical sandwich shells

The buckling and initial postbuckling behavior of clamped shallow spherical sandwich shells with dissimilar face sheets under a uniform pressure is studied. The numerical results show that the buckling and initial post-buckling behavior of clamped shallow spherical sandwich shells with dissimilar face sheets is similar to that of the corresponding homogeneous shell.     

Enhancement of buckling characteristics for sandwich structure with fiber reinforced composite skins and core made of aluminum honeycomb and polyurethane foam

This experimental study is concerned with enhancing the buckling characteristics of sandwich structure when the 6061-T6 aluminum skins are replaced by carbon fiber reinforced composite for the same aluminum honeycomb and polyurethane core. Such an improvement can be attributed to the high strength to weight ratio of the composite skin while the softer core material acts on a relative base as a better energy absorbent and hence tends to stabilize the failure. This results in much higher post-buckling loads which corresponds to the remaining strength of the structure after the onset of buckling.Sandwich structures with core made of polyurethane foam with different densities were also tested in compression. The buckling load increased with the density of polyurethane up to 280 kg/m³ while deattachment of the core and skin occurred when the density is decreased below 100 kg/m³. Compatibility of the skin and core material is shown to play an important role in the buckling behavior of sandwich structure.     

Creep buckling and post-buckling analysis of the laminated piezoelectric viscoelastic functionally graded plates

The creep buckling and post-buckling of the laminated piezoelectric viscoelastic functionally graded material (FGM) plates are studied in this research. Considering the transverse shear deformation and geometric nonlinearity, the Von Karman geometric relation of the laminated piezoelectric viscoelastic FGM plates with initial deflection is established. And then nonlinear creep governing equations of the laminated piezoelectric viscoelastic FGM plates subjected to an in-plane compressive load are derived on the basis of the elastic piezoelectric theory and Boltzmann superposition principle. Applying the finite difference method and the Newmark scheme, the whole problem is solved by the iterative method. In numerical examples, the effects of geometric nonlinearity, transverse shear deformation, the applied electric load, the volume fraction and the geometric parameters on the creep buckling and post-buckling of laminated piezoelectric viscoelastic FGM plates with initial deflection are investigated.     

Compound Bifurcations in the Buckling of a Delaminated Composite Strut

An analysis of the buckling and post-buckling of a delaminated composite strut is presented using a simple 4 degree of freedom nonlinear Rayleigh–Ritz formulation. Bifurcation analysis indicates that instability occurs in general at an asymmetric point of bifurcation. Depending on the depth of delamination both thin-film and overall buckling can occur in the post-buckling range, the transition being seen at a point of secondary bifurcation. For certain combinations of parameters this becomes a stellar bifurcation, associated with a double eigenvalue, where there are three possible subsequent routes for the post-buckling. The method used is fast and reliable and can be readily extended to modelling a composite with several layers.     

Three-dimensional thermoelastic analysis of finite length laminated cylindrical panels with functionally graded layers

Based on the 3D thermoelasticity theory, the thermoelastic analysis of laminated cylindrical panels with finite length and functionally graded (FG) layers subjected to three-dimensional (3D) thermal loading are presented. The material properties are assumed to be temperature-dependent and graded in the thickness direction. The variations of the field variables across the panel thickness are accurately modeled by using a layerwise differential quadrature (DQ) approach. After validating the approach, as an important application, two common types of FG sandwich cylindrical panels, namely, the sandwich panels with FG face sheets and homogeneous core and the sandwich panels with homogeneous face sheets and FG core are analyzed. The effect of micromechanical modeling of the material properties on the thermoelastic behavior of the panels is studied by comparing the results obtained using the rule of mixture and Mori–Tanaka scheme. The comparison studies reveal that the difference between the results of the two micromechanical models is very small and can be neglected. Then, the effects of different geometrical parameters, material graded index and also the temperature dependence of the material properties on the thermoelastic behavior of the FG sandwich cylindrical panels are carried out.     

A two-dimensional closed-form solution for the free-vibrations analysis of piezoelectric sandwich plates

This work presents a two-dimensional (2D) closed-form solution for the free-vibrations analysis of simply-supported piezoelectric sandwich plates. It has the originality to consider all components of the electric field and displacement, thus satisfying exactly the electric equilibrium equation. Besides, the formulation considers full layerwise first-order shear deformation theory and through-thickness quadratic electric potential. Its independent mechanical and electric variables are decomposed using Fourier series expansions, then substituted in the derived mechanical and electric 2D equations of motion. The resulting eigenvalue system is then condensed so that only nine mechanical unknowns are retained. After its validation on single- and three-layer piezoelectric, and hybrid sandwich plates, the present approach was then used to analyze thickness modes of a square sandwich plate with piezoceramic faces and elastic cross-ply composite core. It was found that only the first three thickness modes are global, thus can be modeled by the mixed equivalent single-layer/layerwise approach, often retained in the literature; the remaining higher thickness modes being characteristic of sandwich behavior; i.e., dominated by the deformations of either the core or the faces. These results, together with presented through-thickness variations of the mechanical and electric variables clearly recommend full layerwise modeling. Several numerical results are provided for future reference for validation of 2D approximate analytical or numerical approaches; in particular, of 2D piezoelectric adaptive finite elements.     

Bifurcation and post-buckling analysis of bimodal optimum columns

A mathematical formulation of column optimization problems allowing for bimodal optimum buckling loads is developed in this paper. The columns are continuous and linearly elastic, and assumed to have no geometrical imperfections. It is first shown that bimodal solutions exist for columns that rest on a linearly elastic (Winkler) foundation and have clamped-clamped and clamped-simply supported ends. The equilibrium equation for a non-extensible, geometrically nonlinear elastic column is then derived, and the initial post-buckling behaviour of a bimodal optimum column near the bifurcation point is studied using a perturbation method. It is shown that in the general case the post-buckling behaviour is governed by a fourth order polynomial equation, i.e., near the bifurcation point there may be up to four post-buckling equilibrium states emanating from the trivial equilibrium state. Each of these equilibrium states may be either supercritical or subcritical in the vicinity of the bifurcation point. The conditions for stability of these non-trivial post-buckling states are established based on verification of positive semi-definiteness of a two-by-two matrix whose coefficients are integrals of the buckling modes and their derivatives. In the end of the paper we present and discuss numerical results for the post-buckling behaviour of several columns with bimodal optimum buckling loads.