Geometrically nonlinear analysis of sandwich beams under low velocity impact: analytical and experimental investigation

Nonlinear low velocity impact response of sandwich beam with laminated composite face sheets and soft core is studied based on Extended High Order Sandwich Panel Theory (EHSAPT). The face sheets follow the Third order shear deformation beam theory (TSDT) that has hitherto not reported in conventional EHSAPT. Besides, the two dimensional elasticity is used for the core. The nonlinear Von Karman type relations for strains of face sheets and the core are adopted. Contact force between the impactor and the beam is obtained using the modified Hertz law. The field equations are derived via the Ritz based applied to the total energy of the system. The solution is obtained in the time domain by implementing the well-known Runge-Kutta method. The effects of boundary conditions, core-to-face sheet thickness ratio, initial velocity of the impactor, the impactor mass and position of the impactor are studied in detail. It is found that each of these parameters have significant effect on the impact characteristics which should be considered. Finally, some low velocity impact tests have been carried out by Drop Hammer Testing Machine. The contact force histories predicted by EHSAPT are in good agreement with that obtained by experimental results.