A Finite Element Analysis for Predicting the Residual Compressive Strength of Impact-Damaged Sandwich Panels

A simple analysis method has been developed for predicting the residual compressive strength of impact-damaged sandwich panels. The method is tailored for honeycomb core-based sandwich specimens that exhibit an indentation growth failure mode under axial compressive loading, which is driven largely by the crushing behavior of the core material. The analysis method is in the form of a finite element model, where the impact-damaged facesheet is represented using shell elements and the core material is represented using spring elements, aligned in the thickness direction of the core. The nonlinear crush response of the core material used in the analysis is based on data from flatwise compression tests. A comparison with a previous analysis method and some experimental data shows good agreement with results from this new approach.