Effect of the root crack on the lateral buckling loads and natural frequencies of sandwich composite beams

This study aims to examine the effect of interfacial root crack on the lateral buckling and free vibration responses of a sandwich composite beam experimentally and numerically. Lateral buckling loads and natural frequencies in a thin sandwich composite cantilever beam with root crack are determined. The crack with various lengths is opened between the face sheet and foam core, such as 50, 100, 150 and 200 mm. lateral buckling and free vibration tests of these samples are carried out. For the numerical analysis, ANSYS finite element software is used. Results obtained by numerical analyses and experiments are compared and it is seen that there is a good agreement between them. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved