Probabilistic assessment on buckling behavior of sandwich panel: - A radial basis function approach

Probabilistic buckling behavior of sandwich panel considering random system parameters using a radial basis function (RBF) approach is presented in this paper. The random system properties result in an uncertain response of the sandwich structure. The buckling load of laminated sandwich panel is obtained by employing higher-order-zigzag theory (HOZT) coupled with RBF and probabilistic finite element (FE) model. The in-plane displacement variation of core as well as facesheet is considered to be cubic while transverse displacement is considered to be quadratic within the core and constant in the facesheets. Individual and combined stochasticity in all elemental input parameters (like facesheets thickness, ply-orientation angle, core thickness and properties of material) are considered to know the effect of different degree of stochasticity, ply- orientation angle, boundary conditions, core thickness, number of laminates, and material properties on global response of the structure. In order to achieve the computational efficiency, RBF model is employed as a surrogate to the original finite element model. The stiffness matrix of global response is stored in a single array using skyline technique and simultaneous iteration technique is used to solve the stochastic buckling equations.