2D elastic analysis of the sandwich panel buckling problem: benchmark solutions and accurate finite element formulations

This paper is concerned with the elastic stability of a sandwich beam panel using classical elasticity. An exact solution for the buckling problem of a sandwich panel (wide beam) in uniaxial compression is presented. Various formulations that correspond to the use of different pairs of energetically conjugate stress and strain measures for the infinitesimal elastic stability of the sandwich panel are discussed. Results from the present two-dimensional analyses to predict the global and local buckling of a sandwich panel are compared with previous theoretical and experimental results. A new finite element formulation for the bifurcation buckling problem is also introduced. In this new formulation, terms that influence the buckling load, which have been omitted in popular commercial codes are pointed out and their significance in influencing the buckling load is identified. The formulation and results presented here can be used as a benchmark solution to establish the accuracy of numerical methods for computing the buckling behavior of thick, orthotropic solids.     

2D frames optimization. Criterion: maximum stability

Structural analysis was one of the first disciplines to demand powerful computing tools. However, with current capacities of both calculus and manufacture and use of new materials, along with certain aesthetic conditions, it is possible to address problems such as the one presented in this article, whose aim is the optimal variation of any frame, so that few criteria are met, including stability. The problem is complex and must be solved numerically. This paper presents a formulation for solving the optimization problem, considering not only the buckling conditions but any other, such as allowable stress or limited displacement. The equilibrium of each beam in its deformed geometry is proposed under assumption of small displacements and deformations (Second Order Theory). The optimization problem is mathematically formulated to determine which values maximize the buckling load of the frame and numerically solved by sequential quadratic programming. Finally, for the optimal solution from the point of view of stability, the plastic collapse load is calculated. The plastic behavior is based on the bending moment and leads to sudden concentrated plastic hinges. Therefore, the structural stability is affected, which is checked during the loading process.     

Bending analysis of elastically connected Euler–Bernoulli double-beam system using the direct boundary element method

Double and multiple-Beam System (BS) models are structural models that idealize a system of beams interconnected by elastic layers, where beam theories are assumed to govern the beams and elastic foundation models are assumed to represent the elastic layers. Many engineering problems have been studied using BS models such as double and multiple pipeline systems, sandwich beams, adhesively bonded joints, continuous dynamic vibration absorbers, and floating-slab tracks. This paper presents for the first time a direct Boundary Element Method (BEM) formulation for bending of Euler–Bernoulli double-beam system connected by a Pasternak elastic layer. All of the mathematical steps required to establish the direct BEM solution are addressed. Discussions deriving explicit solutions for double-beam fundamental problem are presented. Integral and algebraic equations are derived where influence matrices and load vectors of double-beam systems are explicitly shown. Finally, numerical results are presented for differing cases involving static loads and boundary conditions.     

A coupled two-scale shell model for comb-like sandwich structures

In this work a coupled two-scale sandwich shell model is proposed, where 4-node quadrilaterals are employed both on the global and the local scale. The coupled global-local boundary value problem is derived by means of a variational formulation and ensuing linearization. A numerical simulation is carried out for linear elastic and elasto-plastic material behavior with small strains. The resulting coupled nonlinear boundary value problem is solved simultaneously in a Newton iteration with incremental load steps. Various types of sandwich models are investigated in the form of uni- and bidirectionally stiffened structures. For the unidirectionally stiffened beam, an analytical reference solution is present by means of classical beam theory. In addition, the numerical results of all coupled calculations are compared to full scale shell models, showing very good agreement while significantly reducing the size of occurring system matrices. (© 2015 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Buckling localization in a non‐elastic rotating disk

Buckling localization of a rotating disk made of elastic‐perfectly plastic material is investigated using stress‐rate formulation of the stability boundary‐value problem. The phenomenon of plastic buckling localization and its analogy with elastic buckling localization is discussed. For a thin rotating disk, it is shown that buckling develops at a speed lower than one at which the disk passes to fully plastic state, or in other words, before the limit load has been attained. (© 2004 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Free-edge effects in a cylindrical sandwich panel with a flexible core and laminated composite face sheets

In the present study, the static response of cylindrical sandwich panels with a flexible core is investigated. The face sheets are considered as composite laminates with a cross-ply lay-up and the core as a flexible elastic medium. The flexibility of the low-strength core leads to high stress concentrations in terms of peeling stresses between the face sheets and the core at edges of the sandwich panel. To take into account the compressibility of the core and to determine the free-edge stresses of sandwich structures accurately, the Reddy layerwise theory (LWT) is used in this paper. The paper outlines the mathematical formulation, along with a numerical study, of a cylindrical sandwich panel with two simply supported and two free edges under a transverse load. The formulation includes the derivation of field equations along with boundary conditions. A Levy-type solution procedure is performed to determine the distributions of stresses and strains. In the numerical study, first a comparison is made with results from the commercial finite-element software ANSYS to verify the LWT results. Finally, a parametric study is conducted, and the effect caused by varying different parameters, such as the radii of curvature and the core to face sheet thickness ratio, on the results are investigated. The results obtained demonstrate a good agreement between LWT and FEM solutions and show increasing interlaminar stresses in the free edge of the sandwich panel     

Analysis and simulations of a nonlinear elastic dynamic beam

A model for the dynamics of a Gao elastic nonlinear beam, which is subject to a horizontal traction at one end, is studied. In particular, the buckling behavior of the beam is investigated. Existence and uniqueness of the local weak solution is established using truncation, approximations, a priori estimates, and results for evolution problems. An explicit finite differences numerical algorithm for the problem is presented. Results of representative simulations are depicted in the cases when the oscillations are about a buckled state, and when the horizontal traction oscillates between compression and tension. The numerical results exhibit a buckling behavior with a complicated dependence on the amplitude and frequency of oscillating horizontal tractions.     

Non-linear hypotheses of deformation of flat cross sections of elastic sandwich beam.

The main goal of the paper is a comparison of three non-linear hypotheses of deformation of flat cross sections of an elastic sandwich beam. Three-layered simply supported beam is under uniformly distributed load (pressure). Studied beam has two faces and a metal foam core. Mechanical properties of the isotropic metal foam core of the beam vary across the thickness of the beam. Fields of displacements (geometric models of non-linear hypotheses) are described. The results of solution of the deflection problem are presented at Figures. (© 2009 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

A general nonlocal nonlinear model for buckling of nanobeams

This study presents a unified model for the nonlocal response of nanobeams in buckling and postbuckling states. The formulation is suitable for the classical Euler–Bernoulli, first-order Timoshenko, and higher-order shear deformation beam theories. The small-scale effect is modeled according to the nonlocal elasticity theory of Eringen. The equations of equilibrium are obtained using the principle of virtual work. The stress resultants are developed taking into account the nonlocal effect. Analytical solutions for the critical buckling load and the amplitude of the static nonlinear response in the postbuckling state are obtained. It is found out that as the nonlocal parameter increases, the critical buckling load reduces and the amplitude of buckling increases. Numerical results showing variation of the critical buckling load and the amplitude of buckling with the nonlocal parameter and the length-to-height ratio for simply supported and clamped–clamped nanobeams are presented.     

Continuité et différentiabilité d'Éléments propres: Application à l'optimisation de structures

The buckling load of a structure may usually be computed with an eigenvalue problem: it is the eigenvalue of smallest absolute value. In optimizing structures with a constraint on the buckling load, repeated eigenvalues are likely to occur. We prove continuity and differentiability results of eigenelements with respect to design variables using the variational characterization of eigenvalues. We illustrate these results with a classical problem: buckling of a beam. Application to arch buckling is presented in another article.     

阶梯柱屈曲的改进Fourier级数分析

该文对阶梯柱的弹性屈曲问题进行了研究.首先基于改进Fourier级数法采用局部坐标逐段建立阶梯柱的位移函数表达式,然后由带约束的势能变分原理得到含屈曲荷载的线性方程组,利用线性方程组有非零解的条件把问题转化为矩阵特征值问题得到临界载荷,最后讨论方法中的参数取值,并把结果与已有文献和有限元的结果比较,从而验证方法的精度.所提模型在阶梯柱的两端和变截面处引入横向弹簧和旋转弹簧,通过改变弹簧的刚度值模拟不同的边界.所提方法在工程设计中能比较精确地确定各种弹性边界条件下阶梯柱的临界载荷.     

An analytical approach for postbuckling of eccentrically or concentrically stiffened composite double curved panel on nonlinear elastic foundation

This paper presents a detailed analytical investigation on the buckling and postbuckling behavior of laminated composite double curved panels with eccentrically and/or concentrically ortho-grid stiffeners subjected to in-plane compression, lateral pressure, thermal environment, and combined loads. The panels are surrounded by three parameter elastic foundations. Different types of simple-supported boundary conditions are considered. The equilibrium and compatibility equations of panel are derived based on Kirchhoff assumptions incorporating nonlinear von-Karman relations. The stress function and Galerkin method are applied to obtain explicit expressions of the buckling load and load-deflection relations. New results are presented to show effects of the combined loads, position of stiffener, and elastic foundation. As a key finding of these results, the buckling load and the postbuckling curves of concentrically stiffened panels are higher than eccentrically stiffened panels.     

Nonlinear analysis of buckling,free vibration and dynamic stability for the piezoelectric functionally graded beams in thermal environment

Employing Euler–Bernoulli beam theory and the physical neutral surface concept, the nonlinear governing equation for the functionally graded material beam with two clamped ends and surface-bonded piezoelectric actuators is derived by the Hamilton’s principle. The thermo-piezoelectric buckling, nonlinear free vibration and dynamic stability for the piezoelectric functionally graded beams, subjected to one-dimensional steady heat conduction in the thickness direction, are studied. The critical buckling loads for the beam are obtained by the existing methods in the analysis of thermo-piezoelectric buckling. The Galerkin’s procedure and elliptic function are adopted to obtain the analytical solution of the nonlinear free vibration, and the incremental harmonic balance method is applied to obtain the principle unstable regions of the piezoelectric functionally graded beam. In the numerical examples, the good agreements between the present results and existing solutions verify the validity and accuracy of the present analysis and solving method. Simultaneously, validation of the results achieved by rule of mixture against those obtained via the Mori–Tanaka scheme is carried out, and excellent agreements are reported. The effects of the thermal load, electric load, and thermal properties of the constituent materials on the thermo-piezoelectric buckling, nonlinear free vibration, and dynamic stability of the piezoelectric functionally graded beam are discussed, and some meaningful conclusions have been drawn.     

Shear Buckling Form of a Circular Sandwich Ring under Uniform External Pressure

The problem on the stability of a circular sandwich ring under uniform external pressure is considered. It is shown that, along with a mixed flexural-shear buckling form (BF), a pure shear BF can be realized in the core. This form is accompanied by rotation of the load-carrying layers at the cost of the transverse shear strain (constant in the circumferential direction) in the core. It is found that the simplified equations of the theory of shallow shells cannot describe this nonclassical BF. The critical loads corresponding to the shear BF may prove to be smaller than the critical load of the classical mixed flexural BF for a circular sandwich ring of medium thickness at a low shear modulus of the core. The results obtained contribute greatly to the understanding of buckling mechanisms of sandwich structures and supplement the existing classification of BFs.     

Accurate stress analysis of sandwich panels by the differential quadrature method

Sandwich structures are widely used in many engineering fields. It is possible but not easy for an engineering theory to recover all stresses accurately. In this paper, a modeling strategy is proposed to simplify the formulation. A classical sandwich panel is firstly divided into three parts, equations of the top and bottom face sheets are used as the boundary conditions of the two-dimensional core and then only the core needs to be analyzed by the differential quadrature method (DQM). In this way, both displacement and stress can be accurately obtained. Detailed formulations are worked out. Three boundary conditions and three types of loading, including the concentrated load regarded as a challenging problem for point discrete methods such as the DQM, are considered to investigate the effect of boundary conditions and loading on the distributions of displacement and stress. For verification, results are compared with theoretical solutions or/and numerical data. Presented data may be a reference for other investigators to develop more accurate engineering beam theory or new numerical method.     

Post-buckling and nonlinear free vibration analysis of geometrically imperfect functionally graded beams resting on nonlinear elastic foundation

In this paper, post-buckling and nonlinear vibration analysis of geometrically imperfect beams made of functionally graded materials (FGMs) resting on nonlinear elastic foundation subjected to axial force are studied. The material properties of FGMs are assumed to be graded in the thickness direction according to a simple power law distribution in terms of the volume fractions of the constituents. The assumptions of a small strain and moderate deformation are used. Based on Euler–Bernoulli beam theory and von-Karman geometric nonlinearity, the integral partial differential equation of motion is derived. Then this partial differential equation (PDE) problem, which has quadratic and cubic nonlinearities, is simplified into an ordinary differential equation (ODE) problem by using the Galerkin method. Finally, the governing equation is solved analytically using the variational iteration method (VIM). Some new results for the nonlinear natural frequencies and buckling load of the imperfect functionally graded (FG) beams such as the effects of vibration amplitude, elastic coefficients of foundation, axial force, end supports and material inhomogeneity are presented for future references. Results show that the imperfection has a significant effect on the post-buckling and vibration response of FG beams.     

弹性地基无限长梁动力问题的一般解

本文从Euler-Bernoulli梁出发,对弹性地基采用Winkler假定,建立了问题的数学模型.然后对空间变量和时间变量分别进行Fourier变换和Laplace变换,利用逆变换褶积积分,得到了弹性地基无限长梁一般动力问题的解析解.最后对自由振动,脉冲激励和运动载荷情况分别进行了讨论.     

Finite element buckling and postbuckling solutions for multilayered composite panels

A study is made of the buckling and postbuckling responses of flat, unstiffened composite panels subjected to various combinations of mechanical and thermal loads. The analysis is based on a first-order shear deformation von Karman-type plate theory. A mixed formulation is used with the fundamental unknowns consisting of the strain components, stress resultants and the generalized displacements of the plate. The stability boundary, postbuckling response and the sensitivity coefficients are evaluated. The sensitivity coefficients measure the sensitivity of the buckling and postbuckling responses to variations in the different lamination and material parameters of the panel. Numerical results are presented for both solid panels and panels with central circular cutouts. The results show the effects of the variations in the fiber orientation angles, aspect ratio of the panel, and the hole diameter (for panels with cutouts) on the stability boundary, postbuckling response and sensitivity coefficients.     

On optimal design of vibrating structures

Optimal design problems of linearly elastic vibrating structural members have been formulated in two ways. One is to minimize the total mass holding the frequency fixed; the other is to maximize the fundamental frequency holding the total mass fixed. Generally, these two formulations are equivalent and lead to the same solution. It is shown in this work that the equivalence is lost when the design variable (the specific stiffness) appears linearly in Rayleigh's quotient and when there is no nonstructural mass. The maximum-frequency formulation then is a normal Lagrange problem, whereas the minimum-mass problem is abnormal. The lack of recognition of this can lead to incorrect conclusions, particularly concerning existence of solutions. It is shown that existence depends directly on the boundary conditions and, when a sandwich beam has a free end, a solution to the maximum-frequency problem does not exist.