Higher-order buckling of debonded (delaminated) sandwich panels with soft core

Buckling behavior of sandwich panels with a transversely flexible core that are debonded at one of their face sheet-tore interfaces is presented. The analytical model allows for a general configuration of the sandwich panel and nonrigid bond layers between the face sheets and core. The governing equations with the associated boundary and continuity conditions are derived through the variational principle of virtual work. Buckling response of the panels with inner and edge debondings (delaminations) is studied numerically. The effects of length and location of the delamination, face sheet rigidities, boundary conditions, and existence or inexistence of contact on the critical loads and buckling modes are presented. A comparison with experimental buckling modes is discussed, and conclusions are drawn.