Homogenization of sandwich panels

Abstract

The numerical modeling of plates with periodic corrugation requires some efforts to be made in terms of careful and precise discretization of the complicated structure. This automatically generates very computationally expensive models. One of the most popular methods of model simplification is analytical or numerical homogenization. The main goal of this paper is to present the homogenization techniques that can be used to effectively model sandwich panels such as corrugated plates in an elastic phase. Two methods of different complexity are described: homogenization through application of the classical laminated plate theory and homogenization through the deformation energy-equivalence method. The accuracy of these methods is compared with the literature data and the results of a structural sample in two basic tests, i.e., the four-point bending test and the uniaxial tensile test. The results show that each method provides similar effective parameters which proves the robustness of the presented methods.