Collapse of clamped and simply supported composite sandwich beams in three-point bending

Abstract

Composite sandwich beams, comprising glass–vinylester face sheets and a PVC foam core, have been manufactured and tested quasi-statically. Clamped and simply supported beams were tested in three-point bending in order to investigate the initial collapse modes, the mechanisms that govern the post-yield deformation and parameters that set the ultimate strength of these beams. Initial collapse is by three competing mechanisms: face microbuckling, core shear and indentation. Simple formulae for the initial collapse loads of clamped and simply supported beams along with analytical expressions for the finite deflection behaviour of clamped beams are presented. The simply supported beams display a softening post-yield response, while the clamped beams exhibit hardening behaviour due to membrane stretching of the face sheets. Good agreement is found between the measured, analytical and finite element predictions of the load versus deflection response of the simply supported and clamped beams. Collapse mechanism maps with contours of initial collapse load and energy absorption are plotted. These maps are used to determine the minimum mass designs of sandwich beams comprising woven glass face sheets and a PVC foam core.