The Use of Sprint Interface Element Delamination Simulation of Sandwich Composite Beam

Sandwich composite beams have been more and more used in various industries because of their excellent mechanical properties. However, the mismatched performance between face sheet and foam core always lead to such as cracks and damages in the core or face/core interface during the processes of manufacturing or service. Delamination damage at the adhesive interface is the most dangerous and could be one main source that the mechanical capability of the structure is serous degenerated. In this paper, a simple and natural model to evaluate the stiffness of the spring interface elements, which is based on the physics and the geometry of the adhesive layers, is proposed. In order to validate the model, cantilever beam bending test were conducted for marine sandwich composite I-beam. A good comparison has been found between predictions and experimental results, and results indicate that the spring interface element can provide an efficient model for the delamination simulation of sandwich composite structures.