Abstract: This paper presents a finite element model for a Sandwich Plate containing a piezoelectric core. A sandwich plate with a piezoelectric core is constructed using the shear mode of piezoelectric materials. The orientation of poling vector has a significant effect on deflection and stress induced in the piezo-actuated adaptive sandwich plate. In the present study, the influence of this factor for a clamped-clamped-free-free and simple-simple-free-free square sandwich plate is investigated using Finite Element Method. The study uses ABAQUS (v.6.7) software to derive the finite element model of the sandwich plate. By using this model, the study gives the influences of the poling vector angle on the response of the smart structure and determines the maximum transverse displacement and maximum stress induced.
Abstract: Sandwich plates are finding an increasing range of application in the aircraft industry. The inspection of honeycomb composite structure by conventional ultrasonic technique is complex and very time consuming. The present study demonstrates a technique using guided Lamb waves at low frequencies to predict de-bond defects in aluminum skin-honeycomb core sandwich structure used in aeronautics. The numerical method was investigated for drawing the dispersion and displacement curves of ultrasonic Lamb wave propagated in Aluminum plate. An experimental study was carried out to check the theoretical prediction. The detection of unsticking between the skin and the core was tested by the two first modes for a low frequency. It was found that A0 mode is more sensitive to delamination defect compared to S0 mode.
Abstract: Honeycomb sandwich panels are increasingly used in the construction of space vehicles because of their outstanding strength, stiffness and light weight properties. However, the use of honeycomb sandwich plates comes with difficulties in the design process as a result of the large number of design variables involved, including composite material design, shape and geometry. Hence, this work deals with the presentation of an optimal design of hexagonal honeycomb sandwich structures subjected to space environment. The optimization process is performed using a set of algorithms including the gravitational search algorithm (GSA). Numerical results are obtained and presented for a set of algorithms. The results obtained by the GSA algorithm are much better compared to other algorithms used in this study.