Comparative Study of Two Different Conceptual Design Principles for Non-Circular Pressurized Sandwich Fuselage Sections Using a High-Order Sandwich Theory Formulation

Results obtained as part of a design study regarding a non-circular pressurized sandwich fuselage section are presented. The originating problem is associated with preliminary studies for the “Global Range Transport” envisaged by the “New World Vistas” program of the United States Air Force. The modeling and analysis is conducted using a high-order sandwich theory formulation in which the elastic response of each face laminate is accounted for, including bending-stretching coupling and transverse shear deformations, and where the transverse flexibility of the core is included. The sandwich fuselage envisaged may contain flat, tapered and curved sandwich elements, and a high-order sandwich theory formulation is developed to analyze each of these configurations. The paper includes a brief presentation of the adopted high-order sandwich theory with special emphasis on the application for the analysis of sandwich panels with variable core thickness, and for the analysis of curved sandwich panels. Numerical results obtained for two different mid-plane asymmetric fuselage sections are presented and compared; one with constant core thickness, and one with varying core thickness.