Finite element analysis of foam-filled laminated composite sandwich plates

Abstract

A multi-layer plate element formulated on the basis of the layerwise lineal displacement theory is presented. The finite element together with an appropriate failure criterion are applied to the determination of stress distribution in and initial failure strength of foam-filled laminated composite sandwich plates. The accuracy of the present finite element in predicting stresses is verified by the existing solutions. Experimental results are used to verify the accuracy of the proposed method in failure load prediction. The effect of number of layer groups used in the finite element analysis and the suitability of the adopted failure criterion on first-ply failure strength prediction are investigated. The superiority of the present finite element over the first-ol der shear deformable (FOST) finite element on first-ply failure strength prediction is demonstrated via a comparative study.