Numerical Studies on Buckling and Post-Buckling of Composite Sandwich Columns with Face/Core Debond under Axial Compression

Numerical studies of buckling failure and debond propagation were carried out on composite sandwich columns with face/core debond. Nonlinear simulations with cohesive elements were carried out by Abaqus 6.14 to predict the buckling modes and debond propagation in sandwich composite columns. For specimens with embedded circular face/core debond, the debond propagated in the interface along the direction which was perpendicular to the compression direction until the through-the-width debond was formed. After that, the face/core debond propagated along the compression direction just as these specimens with through -the-width rectangle debond. Comparisons of the experimental and simulated ultimate loads associated with failure modes showed a good agreement. The maximum error of ultimate load was 10.61%, which proved that the model was capable of predicting accurate buckling loads and post-buckling behaviors.