Application of Extended Cohesive Damage Model in Predicting Novel Sandwich Composites with Graded Layered Core

Abstract

This paper presents a highly efficient approach in predicting Novel Sandwich Composites with Graded Layered Core (NSCGLC) using the extended cohesive damage model (ECDM). Graded sandwich composites have drawn extensive attention from academics and engineers in the composite society in the last twenty years. In traditional sandwich structures, the core between the top and the bottom fibre laminates is single foam material with homogeneous property. This sandwich construction has two interfaces between core and the top and the bottom laminates respectively. At the interfaces miss matched materials may bring interfacial fractures e.g. delamination thus sandwich structures lose loading capacity.