Analysis of local bending effects in sandwich plates with orthotropic face layers subjected to localised loads

This paper presents a method for the approximate analysis of local bending effects in sandwich plates with specially orthotropic face layers subjected to localised external loads. The local bending analysis is based on the assumption that the relative deflection of the loaded face against the deflection of the face not loaded can be modelled by application of an elastic foundation model. This is achieved by introducing a two-parameter elastic foundation model which takes into account the shearing interaction effects between the loaded face and the core material. An approximate solution to the complete problem is achieved by superposition of the local solution and an overall solution derived by application of classical sandwich plate theory. The results obtained are compared with finite element analysis results, and a good match between the solutions is observed. Finally a brief parametric study shows that the local bending effects are strongly influenced by the modular ratio and the thickness of the loaded face.