Identification of effective sandwich structural properties via an inverse wave approach

A structural identification method is presented and applied to one and two-dimensional sandwich structures with honeycomb cores. The method is based on the k-space characteristics of measured or simulated data. It uses a harmonic spatial field as primary input. The harmonic spatial velocity field is first correlated to a well defined plane inhomogeneous wave. The resulting algorithm provides a complete theta-dependent dispersion curve. Thus, an equivalent beam or plate model can be identified. The proposed method is successfully applied to sandwich structures with honeycomb cores. The focus is on flexural vibration of symmetric honeycomb beams and panels. The method leads to a pertinent equivalent homogenized model in a wide frequency band. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.