Global and local buckling of sandwich circular and beam-rectangular plates with metal foam core

The paper is devoted to the analytical, numerical and experimental studies of the global and local buckling–wrinkling of the face sheets of sandwich beams and sandwich circular plates. A mathematical model of displacements, which includes a shear effect, is presented. The governing differential equations of sandwich plates are derived. The equations are analytically solved and the critical loads are obtained. Finite element models of the plates are formulated and the critical loads and buckling modes are calculated. Moreover, experimental investigations are carried out for the family of sandwich beam-plates. The values of the critical load obtained by the analytical, numerical (FEM), and experimental methods are compared.

► Analytical formulae for critical loads are presented.
► Numerical (FEM) and experimental results confirm analytical calculations.
► Shear force influences the buckling load of an axially compressed sandwich beam.
► Elastic buckling–wrinkling may appear for beams with soft core only.