The use of ANSYS to calculate the behaviour of sandwich structures

Abstract

In this article, we use different models to compute displacements and stresses of a simply supported sandwich beam subjected to a uniform pressure. 8-node quadrilateral elements (Plane 82), multi-layered 8-node quadrilateral shell elements (Shell 91) and multi-layered 20-node cubic elements (Solid 46) are used. The influence of mesh refinement and of the ratio of Young's moduli of the layers are studied. Finally, a local Reissner method is presented and assessed, which permits an improvement in the accuracy of interface stresses for a high ratio of Young's moduli of the layers with Plane 82 elements.