Numerical simulations of the mechanical behavior of various periodic cellular cores for sandwich panels

The paper analyses the mechanical performance of a novel cellular structure, proposed as core in sandwich panels. The reason for creating such a topology is discussed and a comparison is drawn between the macro-mechanical properties of a sandwich beam containing the novel core and the most known cellular topologies - honeycomb, corrugated and pyramidal lattice truss - investigated in the same loading conditions. The variations of the mechanical properties in terms of the geometrical parameters are numerically determined for each type of cellular cores and their structural performance is assessed in terms of the relative density and the mechanical characteristics of the base material. It is shown that for certain particular geometric characteristics, the proposed cellular core may be an alternative offering comparable bending and shear stiffness of the sandwich panel while keeping its weight very low. (C) 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and/or peer-review under responsibility of ICM11