FINITE ELEMENT MODELLING OF INTERNALLY PRESSURIZED CLOSED CELL COMPOSITES

Composites composed of closed solid wall cells enclosing a fluid are examined in this paper. The analysis of their stiffness in compression includes the effects of fluids in the cell interiors. A specialized finite element program is developed to account for the internal pressure. Both two-dimensional and three-dimensional geometries are considered. The finite element calculations are then used to predict the compressive stiffness of fluid filled metal cell composites