Modeling and Failure Analysis of Elastic-Plastic Sandwich Beams

Based on a strict and novel decomposition of deformation patterns of a sandwich beam under transverse loading, the flexural and indentation responses of sandwich beams are analyzed with consideration of elastic-plastic behavior of the crushable core material. The analytical model is capable of predicting the flexural response, indentation failure load, and indentation deformation. Some interesting phenomena, such as the global elastic-plastic hardening behavior and three distinct failure stages, are revealed using the present approach. Different from the existing plastic foundation model, a generic model for analyzing the flexural and indentation responses of the elastic-plastic sandwich beams is proposed, and it sheds new light on the effects of skin membrane and elastic-plastic core during indentation process.