Compressive and shear buckling analysis of metal matrix composite sandwich panels under different thermal environments

Combined inplane compressive and shear buckling analysis was conducted on flat rectangular sandwich panels using the Raleigh-Ritz minimum energy method with a consideration of transverse shear effect of the sandwich core. The sandwich panels were fabricated with titanium honeycomb core and laminated metal matrix composite face sheets. The results show that slightly slender (along unidirectional compressive loading axis) rectangular sandwich panels have the most desirable stiffness-to-weight ratios for aerospace structural applications; the degradation of buckling strength of sandwich panels with rising temperature is faster in shear than in compression; and the fiber orientation of the face sheets for optimum combined-load buckling strength of sandwich panels is a strong function of both loading condition and panel aspect ratio. Under the same specific weight and panel aspect ratio, a sandwich panel with metal matrix composite face sheets has much higher buckling strength than one having monolithic face sheets.