L1

Comput. Methods Appl. Mech. Engrg.
190 (2001) 5197±5213

www.elsevier.com/locate/cma
Overall and local buckling of sandwich plates with laminated

faceplates, Part I: Analysis
D.J. Dawe *, W.X. Yuan
School of Civil Engineering, The University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
Received 21 July 2000
Abstract
After discussion of related past work, a description is given of a B-spline ®nite strip method (FSM) for predicting the buckling
stresses of rectangular sandwich plates. The core is represented as a three-dimensional solid in which the in-plane displacements vary
quadratically through the thickness whilst the out-of-plane displacement varies linearly. The faceplates may in general be composite
laminates which are represented, in turn, as either shear-deformable plates or classically-thin plates. The displacement ®eld of a ®nite
strip requires the representation of 12 (for shear-deformable faceplates) or eight (for thin faceplates) fundamental quantities over the
strip plan area, with each quantity expressed as a summation of a series of products of longitudinal B-spline functions and crosswise
shape functions. Full details are given of the development of elastic stiness and geometric stiness matrices. The nature of the solution
of the buckling problem is described and this incorporates multi-level sub-structuring, through the use of superstrips. This allows the
ecient prediction of buckling stresses for both overall modes and highly-localised, wrinkling-type modes, but description of appli-
cations of the developed capability is deferred to the companion Part II paper. Ó 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction
Sandwich plates are notable for their structural eciency and are used as load-bearing components in
various branches of engineering, but particularly in the aerospace and marine industries. The range of
possible sandwich plate con®gurations is broad but a common con®guration comprises a ¯at plate of
rectangular planform and uniform thickness which is made up of a relatively-thick core of low density
material separating two thinner faceplates (or facings or skins). It is only this type of three-zone con®gu-
ration which is under consideration here. The texts of Plantema [1], Allen [2] and Zenkert [3] provide
comprehensive and general descriptions of sandwich plate properties and of their structural behaviour.
For the core of a sandwich plate, both the geometric shape and the material can vary widely. The core
can be of continuous solid construction, made traditionally of balsa wood, say, but latterly perhaps of a
high-quality cellular foam. Alternatively the core may be of honeycomb construction with a variety of cell
shapes which includes the popular hexagon, or of some form of corrugated construction. The materials of
these constructions may include metals, ®bre-reinforced plastics, resin-impregnated paper, etc. For the
faceplates, many materials can be used, including traditional materials like plywoods, but normally for
high-performance applications use is made of metals (e.g. aluminium alloys, steel, titanium) or of ®bre-
reinforced composite laminated material.
One of the particular features of sandwich plate behaviour is the complication of the possible elastic
buckling, or instability, behaviour. Since elastic buckling can lead quickly to failure, this is of major
*
Corresponding author. Tel.: +121-414-5062; fax: +121-414-3675.
E-mail address: d.j.dawe@bham.ac.uk (D.J. Dawe).
0045-7825/01/$ - see front matter Ó 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0 0 4 5 - 7 8 2 5 ( 0 1 ) 0 0 1 6 9 - 4
5198 D.J. Dawe, W.X. Yuan / Comput. Methods Appl. Mech. Engrg. 190 (2001) 5197±5213
concern to the designer in circumstances in which the sandwich plate is subjected to compressive and/or
shear stresses in its plane. Of course, for a sandwich plate of any type the possibility exists of overall
buckling taking place, just as that possibility exists for homogeneous or compact laminated plates. For
sandwich plates it is well known, though, that a number of types of local buckling are also possible [1±3].
Where the core is of a continuous solid nature, a short-wavelength, local instability of the faceplates, known
as faceplate wrinkling, can occur. Where the core is of honeycomb construction, and hence the faceplates
are not continuously supported, a highly-localised intercellular buckling of the faceplates, known as
dimpling, can take place. Similarly, where the core is of corrugated construction a local buckling of the
faceplates can occur between the interior supports provided by the corrugations in contact with the face-
plates, leading ultimately to crippling failure. Yielding of the faceplates and shear crimping of the core are
other possible causes of failure [1±3].
In the present study the core of a sandwich plate is assumed to be a homogeneous, three-dimensional
solid body, i.e. it has in-plane and out-of-plane direct and shearing stinesses. Through the core thickness
the variations of the in-plane displacements are assumed to be quadratic, whilst the variation of the out-of-
plane displacement is assumed to be linear. The faceplates can, in general, be unequal ®bre-reinforced
composite laminates of arbitrary lamination. Their properties are based in turn on the assumption that, in
eect, they are ®rst-order shear deformable plates (i.e. are SDPT faceplates) or they are classically-thin
plates (i.e. are CPT faceplates). The in-plane stress system applied to the sandwich plate is assumed to act
only on the faceplates and can have uniform biaxial direct and shear stress components on each faceplate.
The developed analysis encompasses both overall and wrinkling buckling behaviours, and any interaction
between them, in a uni®ed approach for solid-core sandwich construction. For other types of core men-
tioned above (i.e. honeycomb and corrugated) the overall buckling behaviour can be accommodated re-
alistically by using appropriate smeared three-dimensional elastic properties, but true local wrinkling
behaviour will not occur in practice because of the discontinuous nature of the support of the faceplates. (It
is noted that particular procedures are available to predict separately the local buckling of sandwich plates
with honeycomb or corrugated cores [1±3].)
In Section 2 of the present (Part I) paper a description is given of some of the past work which has been
conducted in the area of the overall buckling and wrinkling of rectangular sandwich plates. The new
analysis procedure for predicting the buckling behaviour of sandwich plates is presented in Sections 3±5.
The procedure is a B-spline ®nite strip method allied to the use of superstrips in a solution procedure which
is computationally ecient. The approach builds on earlier work which dealt with buckling and vibration
of compact laminated plates and plate structures [4±6]. Section 3 gives description of the development of the
salient properties of a ®nite strip for the analysis of sandwich plates which have shear-deformable face-
plates. The model of behaviour is based on the use of 12 fundamental quantities through the plate
thickness, as compared to the ®ve fundamental quantities which were required in the corresponding
analysis of shear-deformable compact laminated plates [4±6]. In Section 4 attention is given to plates which
have classically thin faceplates, in an analysis which introduces considerable simpli®cation as compared to
that of Section 3 (now that there are only eight fundamental quantities) and which will be hardly less
accurate in most circumstances. In Section 5 description is given of the superstrip concept and the solution
procedure for the buckling problem, both of which are of similar form to those used in related earlier work
[4±8]. Section 6 gives brief conclusions to the present Part I paper. The consideration of the application of
the theoretical approach described here, by way of the use of developed computer software, is deferred to
the companion Part II paper [9].
2. Related past work
A survey of the literature on sandwich structures reveals that many publications are concerned with
instability problems, which is particularly signi®cant in aerospace vehicle design. In the early years of study
much attention was devoted to the wrinkling phenomena. Gough et al. [10] investigated various cases of
wrinkling instability including the ¯exural wrinkling of ¯at faceplates. As an extension of Gough's work,
Chong and Hartsock [11] developed a method for predicting the incipient ¯exural buckling of foam-®lled
sandwich panels with light-gauge, cold-formed metal faceplates. Hartsock [12] conducted some experiments
D.J. Dawe, W.X. Yuan / Comput. Methods Appl. Mech. Engrg. 190 (2001) 5197±5213 5199
with foam-®lled panels and ¯at faceplates and arrived at an empirical formula in which the ultimate
buckling stress is directly proportional to the compressive modulus of the core. In their books, Plantema [1],
Allen [2], and Zenkert [3] outlined some approaches for local buckling analysis, in which the actual panel is
replaced by two isolated long skin-panels resting on an elastic foundation that is provided by the out-of-
plane rigidity of the core, while ignoring the interaction between the two skin-panels. A similar approach
that also ignored interaction between the skin-panels and used uncoupled modes was proposed by Benson
and Mayers [13]. More speci®cally, Ho and Mautner [14] earlier used an energy method and a sinusoidal
wave to model the out-of-plane de¯ections of sandwich faceplates: comparison with test results was not
very favourable because some of the material properties were not known accurately. Yussu [15] modelled
the faceplates as a beam with initial waviness on an elastic foundation. Due again to lack of accurate data
on material properties, he ®tted the experimental data with his analytical predictions. Gutierrez and
Webber [16] were among the ®rst to attempt to model realistically the faceplate/core interface. In earlier
works, Pearce and Webber [17,18] were concerned with the theoretical analysis and experimental deter-
mination of the buckling loads of simply-supported sandwich panels with carbon ®bre faceplates and
honeycomb cores. The investigations covered both overall buckling and faceplate wrinkling under end
loads. During the theoretical local buckling analysis, the equations were simpli®ed by separating them into
two sets, one involving mid-plane symmetric buckling and the other antisymmetric buckling. Their analysis
then was particularly focused on modelling the symmetric wrinkling, which was believed to be the pre-
dominant mode for sandwich constructions with a thick-core con®guration. However, for thinner cores,
antisymmetric wrinkling may become the dominant failure mode and should be taken into account. In a
later paper, Hunt and Da Silva [19] used an approach based on an energy method and superposition of
symmetrical and asymmetrical buckling modes, but limited to speci®c con®gurations and boundary con-
ditions. Aiello and Ombres [20] conducted a local buckling analysis by modelling compression faceplates as
thin unsymmetric laminates resting on elastic two-parameter foundations. The two parameters, which are
dependent on the mechanical and geometrical properties of the core material, have to be de®ned for each
particular application. Recently Kassapoglou et al. [21] built their analysis upon the previous work of Ho
and Mautner [14] and of Yussu [15] in a study of the phenomenon of wrinkling modes, but went beyond
the simple model of the waviness eect and examined various failure modes that may arise in an imperfect
faceplate under compression.
Research into the overall buckling behaviour of sandwich structures has been a subject of interest in
many theoretical papers. Benson and Mayers [13] investigated general instability as well as faceplate
wrinkling through application of a variational procedure based on potential energy and the use of Lagrange
multipliers to introduce faceplate±core continuity. The overall buckling and wrinkling of sandwich plates
under compressive and torsional loads were studied by Gerard [22] whose theoretical work was substan-
tiated by experiments. Rao and Kaeser [23] presented formulations for the buckling of sti-core anisotropic
sandwich plates in which the Rayleigh±Ritz method was used to evaluate the critical values of shear load.
Ko and Jackson [24] introduced a method for the compressive and shear buckling analysis of metal matrix
composite sandwich panels under dierent thermal environments. Smith [25] treated sandwich panels as
special cases of folded-plate structures, based on an exact two-dimensional elasticity theory. The works by
Rao [26,27] and Kim and Hong [28] also dealt with the general buckling phenomenon. Explicit derivations
of formulae for overall buckling analysis under various boundary and load conditions have been sum-
marised in the books by Plantema [1], Allen [2] and Zenkert [3].
Most of the work cited above has concentrated on developing and solving the increasingly sophisticated
sandwich plate equations that arise from progressive generalisation of the governing assumptions. The
main purpose of these investigations apparently was to include more and more physical mechanisms to
relax or even eliminate the restriction of dealing only with simpli®ed classical sandwiches. However, this
inevitably leads to greater complexity in the governing equations. In the past two or three decades, with the
increasing availability of large-scale computing, the emphasis in theoretical research has shifted to com-
puter-based numerical methods, the most popular of which has been the ®nite element method (FEM)
although use has also been made of the ®nite strip method (FSM) [29].
Many FEM models have been proposed for the analysis of sandwich structures in practical applications.
Monforton and Schmit [30] presented displacement-based ®nite element solutions for sandwich plates using
16 d.o.f. (degrees of freedom), four-node rectangular elements. Cook [31] developed a 12 d.o.f. four-node
general quadrilateral element including through-thickness shear deformation for thick, thin and sandwich
plate analysis. Finite element solutions for multi-layer sandwich plates have also been presented by Khatua
and Cheung [32,33] using triangular and rectangular ®nite elements which permit freedom of in-plane
displacements for all sti layers, and which eliminate the assumption of common shear angles. A stiness
matrix was derived by Kraus [34] for a 20 d.o.f. rectangular orthotropic sandwich element with thick faces
using the hybrid-stress approach. Wu and Lin [35] used a mixed FEM scheme based on a local high-order
model for stress and displacement analysis in which the eect of warping of the cross-section, which can be
predominant in sandwich structures, was considered. Heder [36] introduced a straightforward application
of FEM software to the buckling analysis of sandwich panels with dierent boundary conditions. In his
study the sandwich panels were modelled with a combination of four-node shell and eight-node solid el-
ements representing the faceplates and core, respectively. The incompatibility at surfaces that connect the
solid and shell elements was supposed to be alleviated through a dense element net, but the spurious
treatment of boundary conditions was a substantial obstacle to extensive applications. O'Connor [37]
proposed a FEM for the analysis of sandwich constructions which combined built-up elements with a plane
elasticity element for the core and a beam element with eccentric nodes for the faceplates. An overview of
various ®nite element models which have been proposed for the analysis of sandwich plates has been given
by Ha [38]. More recently, Noor et al. [39] have presented a very comprehensive survey of the computa-
tional modelling of sandwich plates and shells (with over 1300 references or items of bibliography) which
includes discussion of buckling analysis using the FEM.
Whilst the FEM oers a versatile approach for the prediction of the buckling stresses of sandwich plates,
the FSM does have advantages of improved eciency and ease of modelling when considering both
rectangular plates and prismatic plate structures. Chan and Cheung [40] used the semi-analytical FSM (in
which continuous analytical functions represent longitudinal variations of the displacment ®eld) in con-
sidering the static and dynamic behaviour of multi-layer orthotropic sandwich plates, and this work was
extended to embrace buckling analysis by Chan and Foo [41]. It is also noted that Cheung et al. [42] have
used a ®nite layer method for sandwich plate stability analysis, wherein the problem is reduced eectively to
a one-dimensional nature, but information on the accuracy of the results is limited.
In the present study, as has been mentioned above, it is a B-spline FSM, in which local B-spline functions
are used longitudinally in the strip displacement ®eld, which is developed for the buckling analysis of
rectangular sandwich plates. The development improves on earlier studies by being able to predict both
overall buckling and local faceplate wrinkling in a powerful, general and ecient uni®ed formulation.
3. Finite strip with SDPT faceplates
3.1. Basic equations
A partial cross-section of a sandwich plate in the x±z plane is illustrated in Fig. 1 and shows displace-
ments u and w of the three zones of the plate plus the rotations wx of the two faceplates, where these latter
are rotations of the initial (vertical) normal along the x-direction. Obviously a similar view could be drawn
related to the y±z plane (where x, y, z form an orthogonal system) and showing the displacements v and w
and the rotations wy . The faceplates 1 and 2 are generally of unequal thicknesses t1 and t2 , respectively, and
may be laminated composites of arbitrary lay-up. They are modelled as ®rst-order, shear deformable plates
in each of which the two in-plane displacements vary linearly through the thickness, and the out-of-plane,
z-direction displacement w and the rotations wx and wy are constant through the thickness. The core, as
mentioned earlier, is modelled as a three-dimensional body. The in-plane displacements vary quadratically
through the depth of the core whilst the out-of-plane displacement varies linearly through the core depth. It
is assumed that there is a perfect bond between the faceplates and the core, with full continuity of the
displacements at the interfaces.
The through-thickness variations of the displacements in the two faceplates are expressed in terms of 10
fundamental quantities, namely uf ; vf ; wf ; wxf and wyf , where f has the values 1 or 2 when referring to the
top or bottom faceplates, respectively. The through-thickness variations of displacements in the core are
expressed in terms of the 10 faceplate values, on applying the interface displacement continuity conditions,
Fig. 1. Sandwich plate displacements in the x±z plane.
plus two additional fundamental quantities within the core, i.e. uc and vc , the displacements at the middle
plane of the core in the x- and y-directions, respectively.
By taking the midplanes of the three zones to locate three separate axes of reference (see Fig. 1) the
displacements at a general point, u; v; and w,
in each of the zones can be expressed separately. In the
faceplates
uf uf zf wxf ; vf vf zf wyf ; f wf ; f 1; 2:
w 1
In the core
u2 u1 zc z2
uc uc zc t1 wx1 t2 wx2 2c 2u1 2u2 4uc t1 wx1 t2 wx2 ;
tc 2tc tc
v2 v1 zc z2 2
vc vc zc t1 wy1 t2 wy2 2c 2v1 2v2 4vc t1 wy1 t2 wy2 ;
tc 2tc tc
w1 w2 zc
c
w w2 w1 :
2 tc
On using the linear strain±displacement equations of three-dimensional elasticity theory in conjunction
with the above displacement expressions of Eqs. (1) and (2), the strain components at a general point in
each of the three plate zones can be expressed in terms of the 12 fundamental displacement quantities.
In the faceplates the ®ve components of strain which are taken into account are the in-plane direct and
shearing strains ex ; ey and cxy ) and the through-thickness shearing strains czx and cyz ). These components of
strain are obtained on using the linear strain±displacement equations of three-dimensional elasticity in
conjunction with the displacement ®eld of Eq. (1). The components of strain are then

f ouf owxf f ovf owyf f ouf ovf owxf owyf
ex zf ; ey zf ; cxy zf ;
ox ox oy oy oy ox oy ox
3
owf owf
cfzx wxf ; cfyz wyf ; f 1; 2:
ox oy
In general each of the two faceplates is of composite laminated construction of arbitrary lay-up which
embraces anisotropic in-plane and out-of-plane properties, coupling between in-plane and out-of-plane
behaviours, and through-thickness shearing behaviour. The stress±strain relationships at a general point for
the `th layer are
8 f9 2 3 8 ef 9
>
> r > Q11 Q12 0 0 Q16 > x >
> xf >
> >
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> r > > 6 7 >
Q26 7 > efy >>
< y>
> = 6 Q12 Q22 0 0 >
< >
=
6 7
f
syz 6
6 0 Q44 Q45 7
0 7 cyz or rfl Qfl ef :
f
4
>
> >
> 6 7>> > >
>
> f >
szx > 4 0 0 Q45 Q55 0 5> > cfzx >
>
>
> >
> >
> >
>
: f >
> ; : f >
> ;
sxy l Q16 Q26 0 0 Q66 l cxy
Here the Qrs for r; s 1; 2; 6 are plane-stress reduced stiness coecients and Qrs for r; s 4; 5 are through-
thickness shear stiness coecients.
In the core the six components of strain which are taken into account are the full set of three direct
strains (ex , ey and ez ) and three shearing strains (cyz , czx and cxy ). These components of strain are obtained on
using the linear strain±displacement equations of three-dimensional elasticity in conjunction with the dis-
placement ®eld of Eq. (2). The components of strain are then

c ouc zc ou2 ou1 owx1 owx2 z2c ou1 ou2 ouc owx1 owx2
ex 2 2 t1 t2 2 2 2 4 t1 t2 ;
ox 2tc ox ox ox ox tc ox ox ox ox ox

ovc zc ov2 ov1 owy1 owy2 z2 ov1 ov2 ovc owy1 owy2
ecy 2 2 t1 t2 2c 2 2 4 t1 t2 ;
oy 2tc oy oy oy oy tc oy oy oy oy oy
w2 w1
ecz ;
tc

v2 v1 1 ow1 ow2 1 zc ow2 ow1
ccyz t1 wy1 t2 wy2
tc 2 oy oy 2tc tc oy oy
2zc
2v1 2v2 4vc t1 wy1 t2 wy2 ;
tc2

u2 u1 1 ow1 ow2 1 zc ow2 ow1
cczx t1 wx1 t2 wx2
tc 2 ox ox 2tc tc ox ox
2zc
2u1 2u2 4uc t1 wx1 t2 wx2 ;
tc2

c ouc ovc zc ou2 ou1 ov2 ov1 owx1 owy1 owx2 owy2
cxy 2 2 2 2 t1 t1 t2 t2
oy ox 2tc oy oy ox ox oy ox oy ox

z2 ou1 ou2 ov1 ov2 ouc ovc ow owy1 ow owy2
2c 2 2 2 2 4 4 t1 x1 t1 t2 x2 t2 :
tc oy oy ox ox oy ox oy ox oy ox
5
The core is orthotropic and the stress±strain relationships are

8 c9 2 38 9
> rx > c11 c12 c13 0 0 0 > ecx >
> c>
> > > >
> > 6 7> >
>
>
> r >
y >
> 6 c12 c22 c23 0 0 0 7> c >
> ey >
> >
>
> > 6 7>> >
>
< rc > = 6 c13 c23 c33 0 0 0 77 >
< e c >
=
z 6 z
6 7 or rc Dc ec : 6
>
> s c >
yz >
6 0 0 0 c44 0 0 7 >
> ccyz >
>
>
> >
> 6 7>> >
>
> c >> 6 7 > cc > >
> s
> zx > > 4 0 0 0 0 c55 0 5> > zx >
> >
>
: c >
> ; : c >
> ;
sxy 0 0 0 0 0 c66 c xy
Here the c11 , etc. are the three-dimensional elastic stiness coecients and the strains ecx , etc. are as de®ned
in Eq. (5).
In the development of ®nite strip properties for the buckling problem, expressions are needed for the
changes in strain energy and in potential energy of applied in-plane stresses that occur during the per-
turbation associated with buckling.
The perturbation strain energy of a ®nite strip is the summation of contributions from the core and from
the two faceplates. Thus the strain energy U is expressed as
X
2
U Uc Uf ; 7
f 1
where
Z Z
1 T 1 T
Uc rc ec dVc ec Dc ec dVc 8
2 Vc 2 Vc
and
Z ! Z
1 X
nl
T 1 X
nl
T
Uf rfl ef dVf ef Qfl ef dVf 9
2 Vf l1
2 Vf l1
are the strain energies of the core and of a faceplate, respectively, Vc and Vf are the volumes of the core and
of a faceplate, respectively, and nl is the number of layers making up a faceplate.
In considering the change of potential energy during buckling of the applied in-plane stresses it is as-
sumed that these stresses are applied only to the faceplates. The stresses acting on a faceplate f are denoted
as f r0x , f r0y and f s0xy and are shown in Fig. 2. Each of these stresses is assumed to be uniform over a faceplate
in the present study, but the stresses can differ in the two faceplates. The potential energy, Vg , of these
applied stresses arises from their action on the corresponding second-order strains êfx , êfy and c^fxy , and is
expressed as
X
2
Vg Vgf ; 10
f 1
where
Z
f
Vgf r0x êfx f r0y êfy f s0xy c^fxy dVf 11
Vf
Fig. 2. Applied stresses on a faceplate.

is the potential energy of a faceplate. The second-order strains are de®ned as

2 !2 !2 !2 3
1 ouf o
vf owf 5
êfx 4 ;
2 ox ox ox
2 !2 !2 !2 3
1 ouf o
vf owf 5 12
êfy 4 ;
2 oy oy oy
" ! ! ! ! ! !#
f 1 o
uf o
uf ovf o
vf owf owf
c^xy :
2 ox oy ox oy ox oy
3.2. Finite strip displacement ®eld
A sandwich plate is modelled with a number of ®nite strips which run the full length, A, of the plate.
Fig. 3 shows a typical strip model of width b, which represents part of the full width, B, of the plate. The
particular strip model shown has four equi-spaced reference lines, numbered 1±4 in the ®gure, along which
the strip d.o.f. are located, but other models are also considered here.
The variation of each of the 12 fundamental displacement quantities (uf ; vf ; wf ; wxf ; wyf f 1; 2; uc ; vc )
over the middle planes of the three zones of the sandwich construction is represented as a series of products
of crosswise shape functions (of y), and longitudinal B-spline functions (of x). In totality the perturbation
displacement ®eld of a ®nite strip model is (in the general form used in earlier work [4,5]),
X
n1
d Nj Sdj : 13
j1
Here
T
d u1 v1 w1 wy1 wx1 u2 v2 w2 wy2 wx2 uc vc 14
is a column matrix of the 12 fundamental quantities and
dj du1 d v1 dw1 dwy1 dwx1 du2 d v2 dw2 dwy2 dwx2 duc dvc Tj 15
Fig. 3. A sandwich plate ®nite strip.

is a column matrix of spline knot displacement coecients on reference line j of the strip. There are n 1
such reference lines, where n is the degree of the crosswise polynomial interpolation. Here, for different strip
models n can have the values 2 or 3 or 4 or 5, corresponding to quadratic or cubic or quartic or quintic
interpolation, respectively. (In Fig. 3 the strip model shown corresponds to n 3, i.e. cubic interpolation.)
Matrix Nj is a diagonal matrix of polynomial shape functions which is de®ned as
Nj d Nj Nj Nj Nj Nj Nj Nj Nj Nj Nj Nj Nj c: 16
The Nj (y) are standard Lagrangian shape functions [4,5] of y of degree n and it is noted that, in any strip
model, the same degree of interpolation is used in representing each of the 12 fundamental quantities. It is
also noted that Lagrangian interpolation can be used for all 12 quantities since there is a requirement for
only C0 -type continuity throughout.
Matrix S is a diagonal matrix of submatrices which is de®ned as
S d Uk Uk Uk Uk Uk 1 Uk Uk Uk Uk Uk 1 Uk Uk c; 17
where Uk x and Uk 1 x are modi®ed B-spline function bases of degrees k and k 1, respectively. Here k
can have the values 3 or 4 or 5 corresponding to the use of cubic or quartic or quintic local spline functions,
respectively. In essence, in the spline representation the plate length A is divided into q spline sections which
are here taken to be of equal length d, as shown in Fig. 4. Corresponding to the q sections there are q 1
spline knots within the length A plus a small number of knots outside each end of this length which are
required for the purposes of completing the de®nition of a function and of prescribing appropriate end
conditions by a process of modi®cation of the direct B-spline basis. The modi®ed B-spline basis is an as-
semblage of local spline functions of a particular polynomial degree, k say, each of which is de®ned with
reference to k 1 speci®c knot positions, and with modi®cation made local to the ends to accommodate
prescribed conditions. The reader is referred to related earlier work [4,5] for a fuller, general description of
the modi®ed B-spline basis and to reference [43] for a detailed algebraic description of local spline func-
tions.
A particular point to note, which is made clear by the above de®nition of S in Eq. (17), is that the
longitudinal representation of both wx1 and wx2 is by spline functions of degree k 1, whilst that of all 10
other fundamental quantities is by splines of degree k. The reason for this is to avoid any potential shear-
locking dif®culties, as described in earlier work [4,5,43]. The approach is referred to as the Bk;k 1 -spline
approach.
3.3. Strip stiness matrix
The strain energy of a ®nite strip is expressed in Eq. (7) as the summation of contributions from the core
and the two faceplates, where these contributions are expressed in terms of strain components in Eqs. (8)
and (9). On using the appropriate strain±displacement relationships in conjunction with the assumed dis-
placement ®eld, each strain energy contribution can be re-expressed as a quadratic function of the strip
d.o.f.
For the core, use of Eqs. (5) and (13) in conjunction with Eq. (8) allows the strain energy Uc to be
expressed as
n1 Z
1Xn1 X
T
Uc dT Bc Dc Bcj dj dVc ; 18
2 i1 j1 Vc i i
Fig. 4. Spline sections and knots.

where Dc and dj are de®ned in Eqs. (6) and (15), respectively. Matrix Bcj is de®ned as
2 3
0
aNj Uk 0 0 0 j U0
bN cNj Uk
0
0 0 0 j U0
dN eNj Uk
0
0
6 k 1 k 1
7
6 0 aNj0 Uk 0 0 Uk
bN 0 0 cNj0 Uk 0 0 Uk
dN 0 0 eNj0 Uk 7
6 j j 7
6 7
6 0 0 Nj Uk =tc 0 0 0 0 Nj Uk =tc 0 0 0 0 7
6 7
Bj 6
c
6 0
7;
6
f Nj Uk gNj0 Uk
hNj Uk 0 0 jN
j Uk iNj Uk kNj Uk
0
0 0 lNj Uk 7
7
6 7
6 0
j Uk j Uk iNj U0k j Uk j Uk 7
6 f Nj Uk 0 gNj Uk 0 hN 1 jN 0 0 kN 1 lN 0 7
4 5
0
aNj0 Uk aNj Uk 0 j U0
bN 0 Uk 1 cN 0 Uk cNj U0
bN 0 j U0
dN 0 Uk
dN 1 eNj0 Uk eNj Uk
0
k j j k k j
19
0
where the prime denotes dierentiation with respect to x for U or with respect to y for Nj . Further, the
quantities a to ` in Eq. (19) are de®ned as
2z2c zc z 2
zc 2z2c zc z2c zc
a ; b t1 2c t1 ; c ; d t2 t2 ;
tc2 tc tc 2tc tc2 tc tc2 2tc
4z2c 4zc 1 1 zc zc t1
e 1 ; f 2 ; g ; h 2t1 2 ; 20
tc
2 tc tc 2 tc tc 2tc
i 1 zc ; j 4zc 1 ; k 2t2 zc t2
; l
8zc
:
2 tc tc2 tc tc2 2tc tc2
For a faceplate f f 1; 2, use of Eqs. (3) and (13) in conjunction with Eq. (9) allows the strain energy Uf
to be expressed as
!
n1 Z
1X n1 X Xnl
f T f T f f f
Uf d Bi Ql Bj dj dVf ; 21
2 i1 j1 Vf l1 i
where Qfl is de®ned in Eq. (4). It is noted that for faceplate f the strain energy depends only on those
fundamental quantities that are located at its own middle plane (as distinct from the core, where all fun-
damental quantities are involved). Thus, in Eq. (21) dfj is de®ned as
T
dfj duf dv f dwf dwyf dwxf j : 22
The corresponding de®nition of Bfj is

2 3
0 0
NU 0 0 0 zf N j U k
6 j k 1 7
6 0 0
N j Uk 0 zf Nj0 Uk 0 7
6 7
6 7
6 Nj0 Uk 7
Bfj 6 0 0 Nj Uk 0 7: 23
6 7
6 0 7
6 0 0 Nj Uk 0 Nj Uk 1 7
4 5
0 0 0
Nj Uk Nj Uk 0 zf Nj Uk zf Nj0 Uk 1
The total strain energy U of the sandwich ®nite strip can be written ®nally in the standard quadratic form
1
U dT kd; 24
2
where
T
d d1 d2 dn1 25
is the complete column matrix of d.o.f. at the n 1 reference lines, and k is the strip stiness matrix. This
matrix is expressed in terms of n 1 by n 1 submatrices as
2 3
k11 k1j k1;n1
6 .. .. .. 7
6 7
6 . . . 7
k kij 6
6 ki1 kij ki;n1 7
7 26
6 . .. .. 7
4 .. . . 5
kn1;1 kn1;j kn1;n1
with
Z !
2 Z
X X
nl
kij
T
Bci Dc Bcj dVc f T Q f B
B f dVf : 27
i l j
Vc f 1 Vf l1
It is noted that here, in the contribution coming from the faceplates, B f is introduced as an expanded form
j
f
of Bj de®ned in Eq. (23), since kij corresponds to the column matrix of all freedoms at a reference line, dj ,
f would be as Bf in Eq. (23) but with the addition of seven extra columns of
rather than to simply dfj . Thus B j j
null submatrices: these extra columns would be the last seven columns of B f for faceplate 1 and the ®rst ®ve
j
and last two columns for faceplate 2. However, this is a symbolic, rather than actual, enhancement since in
reality the stiness contribution of a faceplate is evaluated with respect to its own freedoms only, and then
simply placed in the correct locations in k.
The integration over the volume Vf of a faceplate that is required in determining faceplate stiness can be
broken down into an exact integration through the thickness followed by an integration over the middle-
plane area, A0 , in the usual manner for ®rst-order, shear deformation plate theory. The integration through
the thickness would lead to a modi®ed form of Uf which would involve the familiar laminate stiness
coecients Ars ; Brs and Drs that occur in the laminate constitutive equations, as in [4,5] for instance. The
description given here does not follow this path, in the interests of conciseness, but the modi®ed form has
been adopted in practice and is detailed in full in reference [44]. It is noted that in integrating through the
thickness, shear correction factors can be introduced.
3.4. Strip geometric stiness matrix
The change in potential energy of the applied in-plane stresses during the buckling perturbation is as-
sociated with the two faceplates only, as stated in Eq. (10). For a faceplate f (f 1,2) the potential energy
change Vgf of Eq. (11) can be re-expressed as a quadratic function of faceplate freedoms dfj (Eq. (22)). This
is achieved by substituting the expression for the displacement ®eld of the faceplate, i.e. a reduced form of
Eq. (13) which relates only to the displacements dfj , into Eq. (11), in conjunction with the use of Eqs. (12)
and (1). Also, the volume integration exhibited in Eq. (11) is replaced readily by a simple exact integration
through the faceplate thickness, followed by an integration over the faceplate middle plane. The result is
that Vgf becomes
Z b=2 Z A " 3
#
1 tf
Vgf tf cT1f F0f c1f cT2f F0f c2f cT3f F0f c3f cT4f F0f c4f cT5f F0f c5f dx dy: 28
2 b=2 0 12
Here
f
r0 f 0
sxy
F0f f 0x f 0 29
sxy ry
and
n1
X
ouf =ox Nj U0k 0 0 0 0 f X n1
c1f dj G1j dfj ; 30
ouf =oy Nj0 Uk 0 0 0 0
j1 j1
n1
X
ovf =ox 0 Nj U0k 0 0 0 f X n1
c2f dj G2j dfj ; 31
ovf =oy 0 Nj0 Uk 0 0 0
j1 j1
n1
X
owf =ox 0 0 Nj U0k 0 0 f X n1
c3f dj G3j dfj ; 32
owf =oy 0 0 Nj0 Uk 0 0
j1 j1
n1
X
owyf =ox 0 0 0 Nj U0k 0 f X n1
c4f dj G4j dfj ; 33
owyf =oy 0 0 0 Nj0 Uk 0
j1 j1
n1
X X
n1
owxf =ox 0 0 0 0 Nj U0k
c5f 1
dfj G5j dfj : 34
owxf =oy 0 0 0 0 Nj0 Uk 1
j1 j1
For the complete sandwich ®nite strip the potential energy change can be expressed further as a quadratic
function of all strip freedoms d, as
1
Vg dT kg d; 35
2
where kg is the strip geometric stiness matrix. This matrix can be written, in the form of Eq. (26), as
kg kgij 36
with
" #
2 Z
X Z 3
b=2 A t
kgij T F0 G
t f G T 0 T 0 f T F0 G T F0 G
4j G
1i f 1j G2i Ff G2j G3i Ff G3j G 5i f 5j dx dy: 37
f 1 b=2 0 12 4i f
In Eq. (37) G 1j , etc. are introduced as expanded forms of the G1j , etc. de®ned in Eqs. (30)±(34), since kgij
corresponds to freedoms d rather than to simply dfj . These expanded forms simply include extra columns of
null matrices, in a similar manner to that described above for the elastic stiness matrix, but again the
enhancement is symbolic rather than actual, and in reality the geometric stiness of a faceplate is evaluated
with respect to its own freedoms only, and then located in the correct locations in kg : It is noted that kgij
0 if i 6 j.
4. Finite strip with CPT faceplates
4.1. Basic equations
In this simpler model of sandwich plate behaviour the two faceplates are regarded as being very thin and
are represented as classical plates, with the Kirchho normalcy condition invoked, rather than as shear
deformable plates. The modelling of the core is unchanged.
The basic change from Section 3 is, of course, that the rotations wxf and wyf of each faceplate are not
now independant quantities but are de®ned in terms of derivatives of wf as
owf owf
wxf ; wyf : 38
ox oy
The major eect of this simpli®cation is that the number of fundamental quantities involved is reduced
from ®ve to three in each faceplate and from 12 to eight in the sandwich plate as a whole, these latter eight
quantities being uf ; vf ; wf f 1; 2; uc and vc . Another eect is, of course, that through-thickness shearing
action in the faceplates is absent.
In a CPT faceplate the displacements at a general point are
owf owf
uf uf zf ; vf vf zf ; f wf ;
w 39
ox oy
the strain±displacement equations are
ouf o2 w f ovf o2 w f ouf ovf o2 w f

efx zf ; efy zf ; cfxy 2zf 40
ox ox2 oy oy 2 oy ox oxoy
and the stress±strain relationships for the lth layer are

8 f9 2 38 9
< rx = Q11 Q12 Q16 < efx =
rfy 4 Q12 Q22 Q26 5 efy or rfl Qfl ef : 41
: f ; : f ;
sxy l Q16 Q26 Q66 l cxy
For the core the equations for displacements at a general point and the strain- displacement equations are
easily obtained on substituting Eq. (38) into Eqs. (2) and (5), respectively, and are not recorded here. The
stress±strain relationships for the core remain as given by Eq. (6).
The expressions given for perturbation strain energy and potential energy of applied loading in Eqs. (7)±
(12) of Section 3 are unchanged here.
4.2. Finite strip displacement ®eld
The displacement ®eld for the CPT-faceplate ®nite strip is of similar basic form to that described for the
SDPT-faceplate strip in Section 3.2, but with a number of signi®cant dierences. The displacement ®eld
now is given as
X
4
d Nj Sdj ; 42
j1
where
d u1 v1 w1 u2 v2 w2 uc vc T ; 43
u1 v1 w1 u2 v2 w2 uc vc T
dj d d d d d d d d j ; 44
Nj d Nj Nj NjH Nj Nj NjH Nj Nj c; 45
S d Uk Uk Uk Uk Uk Uk Uk Uk c: 46
An obvious dierence here as compared to the corresponding Eqs. (13)±(17) of Section 3.2 is that now there
are only eight entries within each of d, dj , Nj and S, rather than 12. Less obvious is the change in the manner
of crosswise variation of w, which follows from the adoption of the Kirchhoff normalcy condition and
consequent requirement for C1 -type continuity of w. In Nj the shape functions NjH are cubic Hermitian
shape functions which correspond to the use of d.o.f. associated with wf and owf =oy at the external ref-
erence lines 1 and 4 only of Fig. 3 (whereas the Nj , representing uf ; vf ; uc and vc , are Lagrangian shape
functions, as before, which correspond to d.o.f. associated with these quantities at all reference lines).
It is noted that for the CPT-faceplate ®nite strip the only model developed here is the cubic model, i.e.
the model based on cubic crosswise interpolation (with n 3 as implied in Eq. (42)) for each of the eight
fundamental displacement quantities. It is also noted (see Eq. (46)) that splines of equal degree k are used
longitudinally in representing all eight quantities, and that k can be selected here to have the values 2 or 3 or
4 or 5. The typical ®nite strip is designated as a cubic Bk -spline ®nite strip, with speci®cation of a particular
value of k.
4.3. Strip stiness matrix
For the core, the strain energy Uc can still be expressed as in Eq. (18), with the provisos that n 3, that
Dc is still de®ned as in Eq. (6), that dj is now de®ned in Eq. (44), and that Bcj now has a changed de®nition.
This de®nition becomes
2 3
0
aN U 0 jH U00
bN
c N U
0
0 jH U00 eNj U0
dN 0
6 j k k j k k k 7
6 0 aNj0 Uk 00 Uk
bN 0 cNj0 Uk 00 Uk
dN 0 eNj0 Uk 7
6 jH jH 7
6 0 0 NjH Uk =tc 0 0 NjH Uk =tc 0 0 7
c 6 7
Bj 6 0 fNj Uk gNjH0
Uk 0 jNj Uk iNjH
0
Uk 0 j Uk 7
lN ; 47
6 7
6 0 7
6 f Nj Uk 0 gNjH Uk jNj Uk 0 iNjH U0k j Uk
lN 0 7
4 0 0 0 0 0 5
0
aNj Uk aNj Uk 0
2bNjH Uk 0
cNj Uk cNj Uk 0 0
2dNjH Uk eNj Uk eNj U k
c; d;
where in the de®nitions of a; b; e; f; j and l are as given earlier in Eq. (20), and
1 t1 zc 2t1 zc i 1 t2 zc 2t2 zc :
g ; 48
2 2tc tc tc2 2 2tc tc tc2
For a faceplate, the strain energy Uf can be expressed as in Eq. (21), where now Qf` is de®ned in Eq. (41),
T
dfj duf dv f dwf j 49
and
2 0 00
3
Nj Uk 0 zf NjH Uk
6 Nj0 Uk 00
Uk 7
Bfj 4 0 zf NjH 5: 50
0 0
Nj0 Uk N j Uk 0
2zf NjH Uk
Having de®ned the strain energy components Uc and Uf , the remainder of the procedure to determine the
strip stiness matrix k is similar to that described in Section 3.3 and need not be detailed further here.
4.4. Strip geometric stiness matrix
The potential energy change Vgf for a faceplate can now be expressed as a reduced form of Eq. (28) in
which the contributions dependant upon tf3 are removed in view of the fact that their eect will be tiny for
faceplates which, as here, are assumed to be classically thin. The de®nition of F0f (Eq. (29)) is unchanged.
The c1f ; c2f and c3f matrices are expressed in similar form to Eqs. (30)±(32), but in these equations the
G1j ; G2j and G3j are now each reduced by striking out the last two columns of null matrices to correspond to
the de®nition of dfj given in Eq. (49).
With the potential energy thus de®ned, the remainder of the procedure to establish the strip geometric
stiness matrix kg is very similar to that described in Section 3.4.
5. Sandwich plate equations and solution
As a result of the developments described in Sections 3 and 4 the properties of an individual ®nite strip
(i.e. the k and kg matrices) are available for sandwich constructions with either SDPT faceplates or CPT
faceplates. It is reiterated that various ®nite strip models have been developed for the case of SDPT
faceplates, diering one from another in the selected degree, n, of the crosswise Lagrangian interpolation
and the selected degree, k, of the longitudinal spline functions, in a Bk ;k 1 -spline model. For the case of CPT
faceplates the degree of crosswise interpolation (Lagrangian and Hermitian) is ®xed at n 3 but again the
degree, k, of the longitudinal spline functions can vary, in a Bk -spline model. Whichever type of ®nite strip
model is used, a uniform procedure is adopted in producing a model of a complete sandwich plate and
subsequently solving the set of plate equations.
It is noted that the stiness matrix K, and the geometric stiness matrix, Kg , of a complete plate could be
assembled from the contributions k and kg of all ®nite strips in the assembly by a standard direct stiness
procedure. Then the form of the set of equations governing buckling would be
SlD K lKg D 0; 51
where D is the column matrix of plate d.o.f. (after application of the boundary conditions), S is the cor-
responding pseudo-stiness matrix and l is a load factor associated with the applied stress distribution.
This has the advantage of being a linear eigenproblem which could be solved using any of a wide variety of
well-known methods, but has the very considerable disadvantage that the size of the problem, and the
diculty of its solution, increases rapidly with increase in the number of strips used.
An alternative and much more ecient procedure used here is based upon the use of multi-level sub-
structuring techniques, in creating so-called superstrips, in conjunction with the use of a powerful method
for the solution of what is then a nonlinear eigenproblem. The procedure has been described in detail in
related earlier work [7,8], which was concerned with the analysis of compact laminated plate structures
using the semi-analytical FSM, and has also been used subsequently in analyses of such structures when
using the spline FSM [4±6]. Here, a relatively brief overview of the procedure is given in what follows.
Substructuring is used ®rst at the level of an individual ®nite strip to eliminate the d.o.f. at all internal
reference lines and hence to provide a strip which, in eect, has d.o.f. only at its two outside edges. Then
repetitive substructuring is used, in a repeated doubling-up process, whilst creating an assembly of 2c strips
(where c 0, 1, 2 ,. . .) which is known as a superstrip of order c, or simply a superstrip c: for example, a
Superstrip 5 is an assembly of 32 identical ®nite strips. Whatever the value of c, a superstrip ultimately has
effective d.o.f. located only at its outside edges. There is no loss of accuracy involved in substructuring out
the many internal d.o.f. and there is no great penalty as regards computation time in creating a superstrip of
high order. Such a superstrip provides a highly accurate modelling of crosswise behaviour and a single
superstrip can be used to represent a complete plate.
A consequence of the use of substructuring is that the reduced, nonlinear eigenproblem has the form
S0 lD0 0; 52
where the column matrix D0 contains only those freedoms which are not internal to any superstrip and S0 is
the corresponding pseudo-stiness matrix which combines the eective elastic stiness and geometric
stiness matrices of the plate. Determination of the eigenvalues, i.e. the critical values of the load factor, is
made using an extended Sturm sequence-bisection approach of the type ®rst proposed by Wittrick and
Williams [45] and then used in ®nite strip studies of the buckling and vibration of compact laminated
structures [4±8]. This iterative approach is very well suited to the present analysis procedure and has the
great merit that eigenvalues are determined automatically and with complete certainty.
Once a particular eigenvalue is found the corresponding eigenvector, i.e. the column matrix D0 , can be
determined through the use of a random force vector. The buckled mode shape can be determined using a
strategy similar to that described in reference [7] and can be drawn using a suitable three-dimensional
plotting routine.
6. Conclusions
A detailed formulation has been presented for the prediction of the elastic buckling of rectangular
sandwich plates under the action of direct and shear stresses applied to the faceplates. The core is repre-
sented as a fully three-dimensional body in a manner which includes warping of the cross-section and
compression through the thickness. The faceplates may be unequal laminates of arbitrary lay-ups and in
eect are represented either as ®rst-order shear deformable plates or as classically thin plates : in the former
case there are 12 fundamental displacement quantities, spaced through the sandwich plate thickness and
represented in the displacement ®eld, whilst in the latter, simpler case there are eight.
The formulation uses a B-spline ®nite strip approach, with a variety of ®nite strip models. It encom-
passes the use of multi-level substructuring within the superstrip concept and employs an ecient procedure
to determine critical buckling stresses and mode shapes. In a uni®ed approach it oers the prospect of
predicting accurately the onset of buckling whether this be of an overall nature or a highly-localised
(wrinkling) nature. The presentation of results generated using the computer software package which has
been developed from the described formulation is made in the companion, Part II, paper [9].
Acknowledgements
The authors are pleased to acknowledge the ®nancial support of DERA Farnborough, UK, during this
study. The second author is also grateful for the award of an Overseas Studentship by the Committee of
Vice-Chancellors and Principals.
References
[1] F.J. Plantema, Sandwich Construction, Wiley, New York, 1966.

[2] H.G. Allen, Analysis and Design of Structural Sandwich Panels, Pergamon Press, Oxford, 1969.
[3] D. Zenkert, An Introduction to Sandwich Construction, Chameleon, London, 1995.
[4] D.J. Dawe, S. Wang, Buckling of composite plates and plate structures using the spline ®nite strip method, Compos. Eng. 4 (1994)
1099±1117.
[5] D.J. Dawe, S. Wang, Spline ®nite strip analysis of the buckling and vibration of rectangular composite laminated plates, Int. J.
Mech. Sci. 37 (1995) 645±667.
[6] S. Wang, D.J. Dawe, Spline ®nite strip analysis of the buckling and vibration of composite prismatic plate structures, Int. J. Mech.
Sci. 39 (1997) 1161±1180.
[7] D.J. Dawe, V. Peshkam, Buckling and vibration of ®nite-length composite prismatic plate structures with diaphragm ends, Part I:
Finite strip formulation, Comput. Meths. Appl. Mech. Engrg. 77 (1989) 1±30.
[8] V. Peshkam, D.J Dawe, Buckling and vibration of ®nite-length composite prismatic plate structures with diaphragm ends Part II:
Computer programs and buckling applications, Comput. Meths. Appl. Mech. Engrg. 77 (1989) 227±252.
[9] W.X. Yuan, D.J. Dawe, Overall and local buckling of sandwich plates with laminated faceplates, Part II: Applications, Comput.
Meths. Appl. Mech. Engrg. 190 (2001) 5215±5231.
[10] C.S. Gough, C.F. Elam, N.A. De Bruyne, The stabilization of a thin sheet by a continuous supporting medium, J. Roy. Aeronaut.
Soc. 44 (1940) 12±43.
[11] K.P. Chong, J.A. Hartsock, Flexural wrinkling in foam-®lled sandwich panels, J. Eng. Mech. Div., ASCE 100 (EM1) (1974)
95±109.
[12] J.A. Hartsock, Experiments on shear and buckling in foam-®lled panels, J. Cell. Plast. 1 (1965).
[13] A.S. Benson, J. Mayers, General instability and face wrinkling of sandwich plates ± uni®ed theory and applications, AIAA J. 5
(1967) 729±739.
[14] N.J. Ho, S.E. Mautner, Buckling of sandwich type panels, J. Aeronaut. Sci. 12 (1945) 285±297.
[15] S. Yussu, Face wrinkling and core strength in sandwich construction, J. Roy. Aeronaut. Soc. 64 (1960) 154±167.
[16] A.J. Gutierrez, J.P.H. Webber, Flexural wrinkling of honeycomb sandwich beams with laminated faces, Int. J. Solids Struct. 16
(1980) 645±651.
[17] T.R.A. Pearce, J.P.H. Webber, Buckling of sandwich panels with laminated face plates, Aeronaut. Quart. 23 (1972) 148±160.
[18] T.R.A. Pearce, J.P.H. Webber, Experimental buckling loads of sandwich panels with carbon ®bre faceplates, Aeronaut. Quart. 24
(1973) 295±312.
[19] G.E. Hunt, L.S. Da Silva, Interactive buckling in sandwich structures with core orthotropy, Int. J. Mech. Struct. 18 (1990) 353±372.
[20] M.A. Aiello, L. Ombres, Local buckling loads of sandwich panels made with laminated faces, Compos. Struct. 38 (1997) 191±201.
[21] C. Kassapoglou, S.C. Fantle, J.C. Chou, Wrinkling of composite sandwich structures under compression, J. Compos. Technol.
Res. 17 (1995) 308±316.
[22] G. Gerard, Compression and torsional instability of sandwich cylinders, in: Symposium on Structural Sandwich Construction
ASTM STP, vol. 118, 1981.
[23] K.M. Rao, R. Kaeser, Shear buckling of sti core anisotropic sandwich plate, J. Eng. Mech., ASCE 110 (1984) 1435±1440.
[24] W.L. Ko, R.H. Jackson, Compressive and shear buckling analysis of metal matrix composite sandwich panels under dierent
thermal environments, Compos. Struct. 25 (1993) 227±239.
[25] C.S. Smith, Application of folded plate analysis to bending, buckling and vibration of multilayer orthotropic sandwich beams and
panels, Comput. Struct. 22 (1986) 491±497.
[26] K.M. Rao, Buckling analysis of anisotropic sandwich plates faced with ®ber-reinforced plastics, AIAA J. 23 (1985) 1247±1253.
[27] K.M. Rao, Buckling coecients for ®bre-reinforced plastic-faced sandwich plates under combined loading, AIAA J. 25 (1987)
733±738.
[28] C.G. Kim, C.S. Hong, Buckling of unbalanced anisotropic sandwich plates with ®nite bending stiness, AIAA J. 26 (1988)
982±988.
[29] Y.K. Cheung, Finite Strip Method in Structural Analysis, Pergamon Press, Oxford, 1975.
[30] G.R. Monforton, L.A. Schmit, Finite element analysis of sandwich plates and cylindrical shells with laminated faces, in:
Proceedings of Second Conference in Matrix Methods in Structural Mechanics, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, OH, 1969,
pp. 573±616.
[31] R.D. Cook, Two hybrid elements for analysis of thick, thin and sandwich plates, Int. J. Numer. Meth. Eng. 5 (1972) 277±288.
[32] T.P. Khatua, Y.K. Cheung, Triangular element for multilayer sandwich plates, J. Eng. Mech., ASCE 98 (1972) 1225±1238.
[33] T.P. Khatua, Y.K. Cheung, Bending and vibration of multi-layer sandwich beams and plates, Int. J. Numer. Meth. Eng. 6 (1973)
11±24.
[34] H.D. Kraus, A hybrid stiness matrix for orthotropic sandwich plates with thick faces, Int. J. Numer. Meth. Eng. 11 (1977) 1291±
1306.
[35] C.P. Wu, C.C. Lin, Analysis of sandwich plates using a mixed ®nite element, Compos. Struct. 25 (1993) 397±405.
[36] M. Heder, A simple method to estimate the buckling stress of stiened sandwich panels, Compos. Struct. 26 (1993) 95±107.
[37] D.J. O'Connor, A ®nite element package for the analysis of sandwich plates, Compos. Struct. 10 (1988) 145±163.
[38] K.H. Ha, Finite element analysis of sandwich plates: an overview, Comput. Struct. 37 (1990) 397±403.
[39] A.K. Noor, W.S. Burton, C.W. Bert, Computational models for sandwich panels and shells, Appl. Mech. Rev. 49 (1996) 155±199.
[40] H.C. Chan, Y.K. Cheung, Static and dynamic analysis of mult-layered sandwich plates, Int. J. Mech. Sci. 14 (1972) 399±406.
[41] H.C. Chan, O. Foo, Buckling of multi-layer sandwich plates by the ®nite strip method, Int. J. Mech. Sci. 19 (1977) 447±456.
[42] Y.K. Cheung, L.G. Tham, K.P. Chong, Buckling of sandwich plate by ®nite layer method, Comput. Struct. 15 (1982) 131±134.
[43] D.J. Dawe, S. Wang, Vibration of shear-deformable beams using a spline-function approach, Int. J. Numer. Meth. Eng. 33 (1992)
819±844.
[44] W. Yuan, Buckling and vibration of composite laminated and sandwich plate structures by a re®ned ®nite strip method. Ph.D.
Thesis, The University of Birmingham, UK, 1999.
[45] W.H. Wittrick, F.W. Williams, A general algorithm for computing natural frequencies of elastic structures, Quart. J. Mech. Appl.
Math. XXIV (1971) 263±284.

L1

Diunggah oleh

Informasi Dokumen

Deskripsi Asli:

Hak Cipta

Format Tersedia

Bagikan dokumen Ini

Bagikan atau Tanam Dokumen

Opsi Berbagi

Apakah menurut Anda dokumen ini bermanfaat?

Apakah konten ini tidak pantas?

Hak Cipta:

Format Tersedia

L1

Diunggah oleh

Hak Cipta:

Format Tersedia

Comput. Methods Appl. Mech. Engrg.

190 (2001) 5197±5213

Overall and local buckling of sandwich plates with laminated

2. Related past work

3. Finite strip with SDPT faceplates

3.1. Basic equations

Fig. 1. Sandwich plate displacements in the x±z plane.

The core is orthotropic and the stress±strain relationships are

Fig. 2. Applied stresses on a faceplate.

is the potential energy of a faceplate. The second-order strains are de®ned as

3.2. Finite strip displacement ®eld

Fig. 3. A sandwich plate ®nite strip.

3.3. Strip stiness matrix

Fig. 4. Spline sections and knots.

The corresponding de®nition of Bfj is

3.4. Strip geometric stiness matrix

4. Finite strip with CPT faceplates

4.1. Basic equations

In a CPT faceplate the displacements at a general point are

the strain±displacement equations are

ouf o2 w f ovf o2 w f ouf ovf o2 w f

and the stress±strain relationships for the lth layer are

4.2. Finite strip displacement ®eld

4.3. Strip stiness matrix

4.4. Strip geometric stiness matrix

5. Sandwich plate equations and solution

[1] F.J. Plantema, Sandwich Construction, Wiley, New York, 1966.

Anda mungkin juga menyukai

3.3. Strip stiness matrix

3.4. Strip geometric stiness matrix

4.3. Strip stiness matrix

4.4. Strip geometric stiness matrix