Equivalent analysis and failure prediction of quasi-isotropic composite sandwich cylinder with lattice core under uniaxial compression

Sandwich cylindrical shells are the major components of aerospace structures. In this paper, an analytical investigation was carried out to examine the response of carbon fiber reinforced composite (CFRC) sandwich cylinders with lattice cores. An equivalent monocoque shell theory, was developed in this paper to predict mechanical behaviors of the quasi-isotropic sandwich cylinder, including the deformation and the multi-mode failure criterion. Five failure modes were suggested for the sandwich cylinder, including global buckling, face sheet mono-cell buckling/dimpling, face sheet local buckling, lattice rib crippling and strength failure. Using the suggested criterion, failure mode maps of the sandwich cylinder were acquired to instruct the design of the hierarchical sandwich cylinder with five geometrical variables. The method also correctly predicted the failure modes of the tested sandwich cylinder within acceptable errors.

► An equivalent monocoque shell theory for lattice sandwich cylinders was developed.
► Five failure modes were suggested for lattice sandwich cylinders.
► Failure mode maps were depicted to instruct designing lattice sandwich cylinders.
► Failure mode map correctly predicted the failure style of the tested cylinder.