Elastic Foundation Solution for the Energy Release Rate and Mode Partitioning of Face/Core Debonds in Sandwich Composites

The goal of this paper is to derive closed form expressions for the energy release rate and mode partitioning of face/core debonds in sandwich composites, which include loading in shear. This is achieved by treating a finite length sandwich beam as having a debonded section where the debonded top face and the substrate (core and bottom face) are free and a joined section where a series of springs (elastic foundation) exists between the face and the substrate. The elastic foundation analysis is comprehensive and includes the deformation of the substrate part (unlike other elastic foundation studies in the literature) and is done for a general asymmetric sandwich construction. A J-integral approach is subsequently used to derive a closed form expression for the energy release rate. In the context of this elastic foundation model, a mode partitioning approach based on the transverse and axial displacements at the beginning of the elastic foundation (debond tip) is proposed. The results are compared with finite element results and show very good agreement.