Application of column buckling theory to steel aluminium foam sandwich panels

In steel structures, a lot of attention is paid to lightweight structures, i.e. reduction of dead load without compromising structural safety, integrity and performance. Thanks to modern steel aluminium foam sand-wich panel manufacturing technology a new possibility became available for lightweight structural design. Assessment and understanding of the behaviour of this sandwich panel under in-plane compression or flexure is crucial before its application in steel structures. Column buckling theory is considered and applied to the steel aluminium foam sandwich panel to evaluate its behaviour under in-plane compressive load. In this work, various assumptions are made to generalise Euler's buckling formula. The generalisation requires modification of the buckling stiffness expression to account for sandwich panel composite properties. The modified analytical expression is verified with finite element simulation employing various material models specific to steel face-plates and aluminium foam as well as various geometric imperfections. Based on this study, it can be concluded that Euler's buckling formula can be successfully modified and used in the prediction of the load-carrying capacity of a sandwich panel.

Automated summary

In steel structures, lightweight design is a significant focus, which aims to reduce the dead load while maintaining structural safety and performance. The development of steel aluminum foam sandwich panels using modern manufacturing technology provides a new possibility for achieving lightweight structures. This study assesses and understands the behavior of the sandwich panel under in-plane compression or flexure by applying column buckling theory and modifying Euler's buckling formula. The modified analytical expression is validated through finite element simulation considering different material models and geometric imperfections. The results confirm that the modified Euler's formula can be effectively used to predict the load-carrying capacity of a sandwich panel.