Finite element analysis of the dynamic response of clamped sandwich beams subject to shock loading

The finite element (FE) method is employed to analyse the response of clamped sandwich beams subject to shock loadings. Pressure versus time histories representative of shock loadings are applied uniformly to the outer face of the sandwich beam; an impulse applied uniformly to the outer face of the sandwich beam is shown to model adequately shock loadings. Material elasticity and strain hardening representative of structural steels have only a minor effect upon the beam response. Further, the magnitude of the compressive strength of the core has only a limited influence upon the dynamic response of the sandwich beam for the representative range of core strengths considered. The FE results for the deflections and structural response time agree well with the rigid ideally-plastic analytical predictions of Fleck and Deshpande (J. Appl. Mech. (2003), in press).