International Journal of Non-Linear Mechanics 72 (2015) 67–79

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International Journal of Non-Linear Mechanics

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/nlm

Elastoplastic buckling and post-buckling analysis of sandwich columns

Philippe Le Grognec n, Kahina Sad Saoud
Mines Douai, Polymers and Composites Technology & Mechanical Engineering Department, 941 rue Charles Bourseul, CS 10838, 59508 Douai Cedex, France

art ic l e i nf o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Sandwich structures are widely used in many industrial applications thanks to their interesting
Received 24 November 2014 compromise between lightweight and high mechanical properties. This compromise is realized thanks
Received in revised form to the presence of different parts in the composite material, namely the skins which are particularly thin
17 February 2015
and stiff relative to the homogeneous core material and possibly core reinforcements. Owing to these
Accepted 25 February 2015
Available online 14 March 2015
geometric and material features, sandwich structures are subject to global but also local buckling
phenomena which are mainly responsible for their collapse. The buckling analysis of sandwich materials
Keywords: is therefore an important issue for their mechanical design. In this respect, this paper is devoted to the
Buckling/Post-buckling theoretical study of the local/global buckling and post-buckling behavior of sandwich columns under
Sandwich structures
axial compression. Only symmetric sandwich materials are considered with homogeneous and isotropic
Plasticity
core/skin layers. First, the buckling problem is analytically addressed, by solving the so-called bifurcation
Analytical solutions
Numerical modeling equation in a 3D framework. The bifurcation analysis is performed using an hybrid model (the two faces
Modal interaction are represented by Euler–Bernoulli beams, whereas the core material is considered as a 2D continuous
solid), considering both an elastic and elastoplastic core material. Closed-form expressions are derived
for the critical loadings and the associated bifurcation modes. Then, the post-buckling response is
numerically investigated using a 2D finite element bespoke program, including finite plasticity, arc-
length methods and branch-switching procedures. The numerical computations enable us to validate the
previous analytical solutions and describe several kinds of post-critical responses up to advanced states,
depending on geometric and material parameters. In most cases, secondary bifurcations occur during
the post-critical stage. These secondary modes are mainly due to the modal interaction phenomenon
and give rise to unstable post-buckled solutions which lead to final collapse.
& 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Sandwich composites are plate-like structures which tradition-
ally consist of two thin and stiff skin layers separated by a thicker
and softer core layer. The core material is often a homogeneous
and isotropic foam, which provides the extreme lightweight
property of the sandwich. Conversely, the skins and their distance
to the middle surface of the composite contribute to the tensile
properties and particularly to the flexural rigidity. The resulting
composite material thus combines both lightweight and strong
mechanical properties. Thanks to this interesting compromise,
sandwich structures are increasingly used in aerospace, marine
or transportation industries, among others. In return, due to their
geometric and material configuration, such structures are unfor-
tunately prone to collapse when submitted to compressive load-
ings. The buckling analysis of sandwich structures is therefore an
important issue for dimensioning purposes and so it has been
n
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: philippe.le.grognec@mines-douai.fr (P. Le Grognec).
widely studied in the past decades (see [1] as one of the first
leading references in this field).
In such structures, one usually distinguishes two types of
geometric instabilities, namely the global buckling of the sandwich
structure under end compression and the so-called wrinkling (or
local buckling) of the faces, which may appear insofar as they
undergo compressive stresses. On one hand, the global buckling of
a sandwich material can be easily viewed as the classical buckling
of a homogeneous structure as soon as the equivalent properties
have been properly derived. On the other hand, the local buckling
analysis of sandwiches requires the use of advanced models, since
classical buckling solutions for beams or plates are no more valid.
The earliest contributions (see [2–5], for instance) rely thus on
uncoupled formulations, where the global and local buckling
analyses are treated separately, with different levels of approx-
imation. Numerous analytical and numerical models have been
particularly developed for the problem of sandwich panels under
axial compression, where both global and local (antisymmetric/
snaking and symmetric/hourglass) modes are bound to occur (see
Fig. 1 for the different mode types observed in sandwich columns
under axial compression). The predictions for the critical loads are

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnonlinmec.2015.02.011
0020-7462/& 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
68 P. Le Grognec, K. Sad Saoud / International Journal of Non-Linear Mechanics 72 (2015) 67–79
Fig. 1. Different buckling modes of a compressed sandwich column [6]. (a) Global buckling. (b) Local antisymmetric wrinkling/snaking mode. (c) Local symmetric wrinkling/
hourglass mode.
often very accurate as far as global buckling is concerned. How-
ever, the numerous expressions derived for the wrinkling loads are
very scattered and concern predominantly the symmetric case
(see [7], as an example). Indeed, many analyses are conducted on a
simplified model, considering just one skin (represented by a
beam model) resting on an elastic foundation, which is supposed
to stand for the core material. Such a model may only be suitable
for local symmetric wrinkling (with the neutral axis remaining
flat) or antisymmetric wrinkling as long as the core thickness is far
larger than the skin one, that is to say when the buckling of both
faces do not interact. Moreover, the foundation is usually
described by a one- or two-parameter model (accounting for the
extension and possible shear effects) which does not convey the
actual behavior of the core layer. Some alternatives have thus been
proposed, in order to improve the accuracy of the critical loads.
Among others, Niu and Talreja [8] have represented the core
material as an elastic continuous medium (instead of spring
distributions) characterized by Airy's function, whose determina-
tion has been proved however to be rather tricky.
In order to overcome these drawbacks, many authors have tried to
achieve unified models capable of describing both global and local
modes (both symmetric and antisymmetric) in order to investigate the
possible interactions between these different behaviors. Benson and
Mayers [9] have been the first to suggest a unified approach to solve
the overall buckling and wrinkling problems simultaneously, in a
linearized framework. Since then, a few interesting contributions have
dealt with higher-order models or more specific mechanical behaviors
or geometries. In most cases, the Euler–Bernoulli (or Love–Kirchhoff)
hypotheses are consistently employed for the description of the skin
layers, whereas various approximate kinematics are proposed for the
core layer. Following the Benson–Mayers theory, Hadi and Matthews
[10] (see also [11]) derived a general semi-analytical approach for the
buckling and wrinkling analysis of anisotropic sandwich panels. It is
based on energy methods and the core is assumed to be anti-plane
(the longitudinal stiffness is neglected). Léotoing et al. [12] investigated
the overall buckling and local wrinkling of sandwich columns with a
unified formulation where the core material is represented by a
higher-order beam model so as to take into account the shear effects.
Pandit et al. [13] studied the buckling behavior of laminated sandwich
plates using an improved higher-order zig–zag theory, in the context
of the finite element method. In their plate model, the in-plane
displacements are supposed to be cubic along the thickness direction
throughout all the layers, while the transverse displacement in the
core is assumed to vary quadratically. More recently, Magnucka-
Blandzi [14] presented a semi-analytical model for the buckling
analysis of simply-supported rectangular sandwich plates under in-
plane compression (the plates are made of isotropic skins and a
porous-cellular metal foam core). The system of differential equations
resulting from the principle of stationarity of the total potential energy
is here only approximately solved. Kheirikhah et al. [15] proposed a
mathematical formulation with similar kinematic assumptions as in
[13], also based on the principle of stationarity of the total potential
energy, so as to study the biaxial buckling of rectangular sandwich
plates made of orthotropic core and laminated face sheets. One of the
most recent works in this field is due to Jasion et al. [16] and deals
with analytical, numerical and experimental analyses of the global
buckling/local wrinkling of sandwich rectangular beams/circular plates
under compression or bending.
On one hand, in many studies, simplifying assumptions in the core
kinematics allow one to define simple expressions for the critical
forces (or bending moments). However, when compared to finite
element computations, such analytical solutions are not always
conservative and the relative differences between the analytical and
numerical reference critical values are often about 10–20%. Further-
more, these errors may change the mode sequence, and particularly
the type (global/local, symmetric/antisymmetric) and the wave num-
ber of the first dominant mode. On the other hand, when analytical
solutions are no more available, semi-analytical approaches are
employed, which are partially or totally based on the use of numerical
methods. The results provided by the corresponding contributions
generally seem to be in good agreement with full numerical computa-
tions, but only solution procedures are presented without any closed-
form expression. Finally, Douville and Le Grognec [17] first derived
original closed-form expressions for the buckling and wrinkling
analysis of sandwich beam-columns (accounting for all mode types)
demonstrating a very good accuracy. A hybrid beam/2D model is used,
that is to say no particular assumption is made in the core kinematics
(unlike the previous models, the core layer is here represented by a 2D
continuous solid), and various loadings are considered. Such an exact
buckling analysis has already been performed once, in the case of
sandwich beams for various stress/strain formulations, but again, no
explicit solutions were derived [18].
The post-critical response of sandwich structures was consid-
erably less studied in the literature and the very few contributions
concern the axial compression of sandwich columns. Hunt et al.
[19] first investigated not only the critical buckling loads and
modes but also the non-linear post-buckling behavior of sandwich
structures. They put forward analytical and semi-analytical solu-
tions that emphasized the possible interaction between global
(primary) and local (secondary) bifurcation modes. Using a more
advanced model, Hunt and Wadee [20] also studied this inter-
active buckling phenomenon and captured the localized pattern of
the deformed shape corresponding to the unstable post-buckling
response of the sandwich structure. The post-critical behavior is
all the more unstable that the primary and secondary bifurcation
points are close from each other. The latter results were then
extended to the case of orthotropic core materials [21] and
imperfect panels including periodic or localized defects [22]. As
for Wadee et al. [23], they analytically solved the buckling and
advanced post-buckling responses of sandwich structures using
two different core bending models based on two different beam
theories. The same models were also used to investigate the
interactive buckling phenomenon in a sandwich beam-column
under both compression and bending [24]. Finally, sandwich
structures with functionally graded cores have been given special
attention in the past few years, as it has been shown both
 P. Le Grognec, K. Sad Saoud / International Journal of Non-Linear Mechanics 72 (2015) 67–79 69

theoretically [25] and experimentally [26] that specific core con-

figurations performed better than homogeneous ones so that
some particular failure modes could be delayed or even avoided.
Recently, a few buckling and post-buckling analyses of sandwich
structures with functionally graded cores have been thus under-
taken, among which the one from Yiatros et al. [27], following the
same procedure as in their former works.
This paper deals with the buckling and post-buckling phenom-
ena in sandwich columns under axial compression and can be Fig. 2. Two-dimensional representation of the sandwich column under compression.
seen as the continuation of Douville and Le Grognec [17]. The
buckling behavior is first investigated analytically, using the same
model as in Douville and Le Grognec [17] as it has proved to give
very accurate solutions when compared with numerical results elastic regime, it is defined by its Young's modulus Ec and Poisson's
obtained through linearized buckling analyses. The modeling ratio νc . In the plastic regime, we adopt the J 2 flow theory and assume
hypotheses and the associated results are briefly recalled, corre- that the plastic threshold of the material is defined by the von Mises
sponding to the case where both materials are linearly elastic. As a yield function with a linear isotropic hardening:
novelty, the case of an elastoplastic core material is analyzed in the qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
present study. Szyniszewski et al. [28] already derived an empiri- f ðΣ; AÞ ¼ 32 Σd : Σd  σ c0  A; A ¼ H c p ð1Þ
cal formula for the compressive strength of steel foam sandwich
where Σ denotes the second Kirchhoff stress tensor (symmetric), Σd
panels, involving the local buckling of the face sheets and the
its deviatoric part, p the equivalent plastic strain, and σ c0 and H c stand
plastic yielding of both skin and core layers. Léotoing et al. [29]
for the initial yield stress and the isotropic hardening modulus
also considered this eventuality but in their numerical study,
(constant) of the core material, respectively.
plasticity often occurs during the post-critical response so that
Lastly, the left and right end sections of the sandwich column
buckling remains elastic. In the present work, plastic buckling is
are respectively subjected to zero and non-zero (compressive)
examined in the sense that buckling occurs as the core layer
displacement boundary conditions in the longitudinal direction,
behaves plastically. A general 3D plastic bifurcation analysis is
what leads to buckling. The critical displacements and the asso-
carried out, similar to the elastic case [17] and to other earlier
ciated bifurcation modes are derived from a 3D framework: the
studies performed by one of the authors in the context of plastic
theory is developed using a total Lagrangian formulation where
buckling [30,31]. After a number of calculations, original plastic
the different components of the model are initially seen as 3D
buckling analytical solutions are obtained and then compared to
bodies. This method has already been applied successfully to the
their elastic counterparts.
cases of compressed elastoplastic beams [31], elastic and elasto-
Next, use is made of a bespoke 2D finite element program in order
plastic composite beams with partial interaction [32,33], elasto-
to investigate the post-buckling behavior of sandwich columns in the
plastic plates and cylinders [30], reinforced sandwiches under
framework of finite plasticity. The numerical computations are per-
through-thickness compression [34] and sandwich panels under
formed in an incremental way, with the help of arc-length methods
biaxial compression [35].
and branch-switching techniques, so as to trace any equilibrium path
(possibly involving snap-through or snap-back phenomena) and
bifurcate onto the desired primary (or secondary) branch, respectively. 2.2. Nominal and material tangent moduli
Such calculations first allow us to validate the previous elastoplastic
critical values and corresponding modes obtained analytically. Further- The critical loading λcr and the bifurcation mode X of a 3D body
more, they give rise to the post-critical responses of the compressed can be obtained by solving the following bifurcation equation [36]:
sandwich columns up to advanced deformation states. Several types of Z
response are observed, depending on geometric and material para- 8 δU; ∇T δU : Ki ðλcr Þ : ∇X dΩ ¼ 0 ð2Þ
Ω
meters. Secondary modes are specifically reached without the use of
any imperfection in the numerical model. The modal interaction The fourth-order nominal tangent tensor Ki (with i ¼ e or p in
phenomenon is therefore naturally emphasized and proved to be the elastic or plastic range, respectively) can be written as follows:
responsible for the final collapse of the sandwich structure. ∂Π ∂Σ
Ki ¼ ¼ F: :FT þðI:ΣÞT ¼ F:Di :FT þ ðI:ΣÞT ð3Þ
∂F ∂E

2. Analytical study of the buckling behavior of elastoplastic In the above equation, E denotes the Green strain tensor, F is
sandwich columns the deformation gradient and Π ¼ F:Σ is the first Kirchhoff stress
tensor (non-symmetric). I represents the fourth-order unit tensor
2.1. Problem definition (I ijkl ¼ δil δkj , where δij is the Kronecker symbol) and the superscript
T represents the transposition of a second-order tensor and the
The same model as in Douville and Le Grognec [17] is used here major transposition of a fourth-order tensor (ðAT Þijkl ¼ Aklij ).
to investigate the elastoplastic buckling behavior of a sandwich In the elastic case, the fourth-order material tangent tensor De
column. One considers a symmetric sandwich column (with of an isotropic material can be defined by its components in an
identical skins) of length L, thicknesses 2hc and 2hs for the foam orthonormal basis Deijkl ¼ Λδij δkl þ μðδik δjl þ δil δkj Þ, where Λ and μ are
core and the skins, respectively, and unit depth (see Fig. 2 for the the Lamé constants which can be expressed by the standard
2D representation of the sandwich material). relations Λ ¼ Eν=ð1 þ νÞð1 2νÞ and μ ¼ E=2ð1 þ νÞ.
The facings are assumed to behave like Euler–Bernoulli beams, In the plastic case, use is made of the fourth-order material
with a linear elastic constitutive law (due to the kinematic hypotheses, tangent elastoplastic tensor Dp which can be defined as follows:
only their Young's modulus Es will be involved subsequently). As for ∂f ∂f
∂Σ De :  : De
the foam core, it is modeled by a 2D continuous solid satisfying the p e ∂Σ ∂Σ
D ¼ ¼D  ð4Þ
plane stress hypothesis. The homogeneous and isotropic core material ∂E ∂f ∂f
Hþ : De :
is supposed to be either linearly elastic or elastoplastic. In the linear ∂Σ ∂Σ
70 P. Le Grognec, K. Sad Saoud / International Journal of Non-Linear Mechanics 72 (2015) 67–79

where the tensor product  of two second-order tensors S and T significant effect on the buckling behavior. Therefore, the nominal
is defined by ðS  TÞijkl ¼ Sij T kl . Relation (4) can be recast as tangent tensor in this case simply writes
Dp ¼ De N  N ð5Þ ∂Σ
Ki  ¼ Di ð15Þ
∂E
where the symmetric tensor N has the expression:
∂f Dealing now with plastic bifurcation, let us make the two
De : following assumptions:
∂Σ
N ¼ rffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi ð6Þ
∂f ∂f
Hþ : De :  The whole layer is supposed to be plasticized on the funda-
∂Σ ∂Σ
mental branch at critical time (the yield stress σ c0 must be small
Likewise, Eq. (3) takes the form: enough for the plastic strains to appear in practice before the
Kp ¼ Ke  MT  M ð7Þ critical load is reached, in such a way that the buckling
phenomenon occurs in the plastic regime).
where M is defined as  At the critical time, the plastic zone corresponding to the
M ¼ N:FT ð8Þ bifurcated solution is supposed to be equal to that of the
fundamental solution, i.e. the bifurcation takes place at the
We shall now derive more explicit expressions of the above
tangent modulus critical load with incipient unloading.
tensors by exploiting the specific stress states in the sandwich
components during the pre-critical stage.
On one hand, the elastic skins are subjected to a nominal axial In the elastoplastic case, only tensors N and Dp have thus to be
compressive stress Π XX ¼ P o 0 in their longitudinal direction evaluated. As mentioned above, the pre-critical compressive
(due to the enforced compressive displacement), so that the first stresses in the foam block are not introduced in terms of geometric
Kirchhoff stress tensor Π is expressed in the orthonormal basis non-linearities. Nevertheless, a uniaxial hypothetical stress state is
ðeX ; eY ; eZ Þ as considered so as to derive the proper elastoplastic moduli. The
2 3 tensor N (Eq. (6)) can then be expressed as follows:
P 0 0 2 3
6 7 2 0 0
Π ¼  PeX  eX ¼ 4 0 0 0 5 ðP 40Þ ð9Þ μc μc 6 7
0 0 0 N ¼ pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiðI  3eX  eX Þ ¼ pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi4 0 1 05 ð16Þ
H c þ 3μc H c þ 3μc
0 0 1
Let us make the assumption that the pre-critical deformations
are small, which is usually satisfied in practice: Hence the material tangent elastoplastic tensor (Eq. (5)) reads
J ∇U J {1 ð10Þ μ2c
D p ¼ De  ðI  3eX  eX Þ  ðI  3eX  eX Þ ð17Þ
Thus, the stress tensor Σ can be approximated by Π: H c þ 3μc

Σ ¼ F  1 :Π  Π ð11Þ In the orthonormal basis ðeX ; eY ; eZ Þ, the components of Dp are

The nominal tangent elastic tensor in Eq. (3) becomes then 4μ2c μ2c
DpXXXX ¼ Λc þ 2μc  ; DpYYZZ ¼ Λc 
∂Σ H c þ 3μc H c þ3μc
Ke  þ ðI:ΣÞT ¼ De  Pei  eX  eX  ei ð12Þ
∂E μ2c 2μ2c
DpYYYY ¼ Λc þ 2μc  ; DpXXZZ ¼ Λc þ
which is independent of the spatial coordinates (the implicit summa- H c þ 3μc H c þ 3μc
tion convention on repeated indices is used with i ¼ X; Y; Z). μ2c 2μ2c
Furthermore, when dealing with 1D models like beams, ad hoc DpZZZZ ¼ Λc þ 2μc  ; DpXXYY ¼ Λc þ
H c þ3μc H c þ 3μc
assumptions are usually added in order to enforce some specific
stress state in the body. Namely, the transverse normal material DpXYXY ¼ DpXZXZ ¼ DpYZYZ ¼ μc ð18Þ
stresses are assumed to be zero: Σ YY ¼ Σ ZZ ¼ 0. Taking into account
The other components are either zero or derived from Eq. (18)
these assumptions leads one to replace tensor De with the reduced
using both major and minor symmetries of tensor Dp (Dpijkl ¼
tensor Cs defined as
Dpklij ¼ Dpjikl ¼ Dpijlk ).
DeijYY ðDeYYZZ DeZZkl  DeZZZZ DeYYkl Þ þ DeijZZ ðDeZZYY DeYYkl  DeYYYY DeZZkl Þ The present 2D model is supposed to reproduce the behavior of
C sijkl ¼ Deijkl þ
DeYYYY DeZZZZ  DeYYZZ DeZZYY a sandwich column with small lateral dimensions, so that the
plane stress hypothesis is adopted (the normal stress Σ ZZ is
ði; jÞ a ðY; YÞ; ðZ; ZÞ; ðk; lÞ aðY; YÞ; ðZ; ZÞ ð13Þ
assumed to be zero). Thus, tensor Dp must be replaced by the
s
It can be readily checked that tensor C has both the major and appropriate reduced tensor Cc defined as
minor symmetries. Subsequently, we will only need the following
DpijZZ DpZZkl
reduced moduli (and their equivalents obtained by major or minor C cijkl ¼ Dpijkl  ði; jÞ aðZ; ZÞ; ðk; lÞ a ðZ; ZÞ ð19Þ
symmetries): DpZZZZ

C sXXXX ¼ Es ; C sXYXY ¼ C sXZXZ ¼ C sYZYZ ¼ μs ð14Þ The tensor Cc has both the major and minor symmetries and its
among which only Es will explicitly appear in the final bifurcation plane components, which will be used subsequently, and take the
equation, due to the kinematics. following form:
On the other hand, simplifying hypotheses are made concern- ETc
1þ3
ing the foam core. Due to the uniform compressive displacement Ec
C cXXXX ¼ Ec
applied on the right-hand side of the sandwich column, uniaxial ETc
5  4νc  ð1  2νc Þ2
compressive stresses also occur in the core material during the Ec
pre-critical stage. However, due to the respective moduli of the
two materials, the initial stresses at the critical point are far larger 4
C cYYYY ¼ Ec
in the skins than in the foam, and they will be neglected in the ETc
5  4νc  ð1  2νc Þ2
core material, as they have numerically shown to produce no Ec
 P. Le Grognec, K. Sad Saoud / International Journal of Non-Linear Mechanics 72 (2015) 67–79 71


ETc Es λcr Es λcr
2  2ð1  2νc Þ  ðU b ;X  YV b ;XX ÞðδU b ;X  YδV b ;XX Þ  V b ;X δV b ;X dΩb
Ec L L
C cXXYY ¼ Ec Z
ETc
5  4νc  ð1  2νc Þ2 þ ðC cXXXX U c ;X δU c ;X þ C cXXYY V c ;Y δU c ;X þ C cYYXX U c ;X δV c ;Y þ C cYYYY V c ;Y δV c ;Y
Ec Ωc

Ec þ C cXYXY V c ;X δU c ;Y þ C cXYYX U c ;Y δU c ;Y þ C cYXXY V c ;X δV c ;X þ C cYXYX U c ;Y δV c ;X
C cXYXY ¼ ð20Þ
2ð1 þ νc Þ
dΩc ¼ 0 ð26Þ
where ETc is the tangent elastoplastic modulus related to Young's
where Y stands for the Y-coordinate of a current point relative to
modulus Ec and the isotropic hardening modulus H c by
the centroid axis of the corresponding zone.
1=ETc ¼ 1=Ec þ 1=H c .
First, integrating over the cross-sections of the beams, then
In the case where the core material remains elastic, the
integrating by parts with respect to X and Y, and eliminating
previous moduli come down to the following well-known expres-
negligible higher-order terms (presupposing that λcr {L) yield six
sions:
local partial differential equations for the components U a , V a , U b ,
C cXXXX ¼ C cYYYY ¼ Λnc þ 2μc ; C cXXYY ¼ Λnc ; C cXYXY ¼ μc V b , U c and V c of the eigenmode:
 
2Λc μc
Λnc ¼ ð21Þ 2Es hs U a ;XX þ μc ðU c ;Y þV c ;X Þj Y ¼  hc ¼0 ðaÞ
Λc þ 2μc 3
2Es hs 2Es hs λcr
2.3. Kinematics V a ;XXXX þ V a ;XX  C cXXYY U c ;X j Y ¼  hc
3 L
 C cYYYY V c ;Y j Y ¼  hc  hs μc ðU c ;XY þ V c ;XX Þj Y ¼  hc ¼ 0 ðbÞ
The bifurcation equation (2) can be henceforth written for the 2Es hs U b ;XX  μc ðU c ;Y þV c ;X Þj Y ¼ hc ¼ 0 ðcÞ
whole sandwich structure: 3 ð27Þ
Z 2Es hs 2Es hs λcr
V b ;XXXX þ V b ;XX þC cXXYY U c ;X j Y ¼ hc
8 δUa ; δUb ; δUc ; ∇T δUa : ðCs  P cr ei  eX  eX  ei Þ : ∇Xa dΩa 3 L
c
Ωa þ C YYYY V c ;Y j Y ¼ hc  hs μc ðU c ;XY þ V c ;XX Þj Y ¼ hc ¼ 0 ðdÞ
Z
C cXXXX U c ;XX þ μc U c ;YY þ ðC cXXYY þ μc ÞV c ;XY ¼ 0 ðeÞ
þ ∇T δUb : ðCs  P cr ei  eX  eX  ei Þ : ∇Xb dΩb
Ωb C cYYYY V c ;YY þ μc V c ;XX þ ðC cXXYY þ μc ÞU c ;XY ¼ 0 ðfÞ
Z
þ ∇T δUc : Cc : ∇Xc dΩc ¼ 0 ð22Þ where C cXXXX , C cYYYY and C cXXYY are either the elastoplastic moduli
Ωc
(Eq. (20)) or the elastic ones (Eq. (21)), depending on the tangent
The compressive stress (P 4 0), identical for the two skins, is behavior of the core layer at the critical time.
related to the enforced displacement λ 4 0 (which will act as the At this stage, one has to specify the boundary conditions in
bifurcation parameter) by the following relation: order to solve the previous system. First, connecting conditions for
Es λ the displacement fields (bifurcation mode components) must be
P¼ ð23Þ satisfied at the interfaces between the foam core and the two
L
facings, namely
and Ua , Ub , Uc , Xa , Xb and Xc represent the displacement field and
bifurcation mode components, respectively, relative to the two skins U a  hs V a ;X U c j Y ¼  hc ¼0
(with indices a and b ) and the foam core (with index c ). U b þ hs V b ;X  U c j Y ¼ hc ¼ 0
Let us now consider the bending problem of the skins in the 8 X A 0; L½; ð28Þ
V a V c j Y ¼  hc ¼0
XY-plane, assuming that transverse shear effects are negligible. V b  V c j Y ¼ hc ¼ 0
The bifurcation modes Xi and displacement variations δUi (i ¼ a; b)
in Eq. (22) are therefore both chosen according to the Euler– Owing to the enforced displacement boundary conditions, the two
Bernoulli kinematics: ends of each face act as if they were guided, what leads to the
  following kinematical constraints: U a ð0Þ ¼ U a ðLÞ ¼ U b ð0Þ ¼ U b ðLÞ ¼
 U i  YV i ;X  δU i  YδV i ;X
 
  V a ;X ð0Þ ¼ V a ;X ðLÞ ¼ V b ;X ð0Þ ¼ V b ;X ðLÞ ¼ 0. Taking into account δU a
Xi ¼  V i ; δUi ¼  δV i ð24Þ
  ð0Þ ¼ δU a ðLÞ ¼ δU b ð0Þ ¼ δU b ðLÞ ¼ δV a ;X ð0Þ ¼ δV a ;X ðLÞ ¼ δV b ;X ð0Þ ¼ δV b
0 0
;X ðLÞ ¼ 0 in the bifurcation equation (26) leads one, after integration
where UðXÞ and VðXÞ are the axial and transverse displacements of by parts, to the remaining stress boundary conditions at the ends
the centroid axis of the beam, respectively. X ¼ 0 and X ¼ L:
On the other side, the bifurcation mode Xc and displacement 3
2Es hs 2Es hs λcr
variation δUc in the foam core are classically expressed as follows: V a ;XXX ð0Þ þ V a ;X ð0Þ
3 L
   hs μc ðU c ;Y ð0; hc Þ þ V c ;X ð0; hc ÞÞ ¼ 0
 Uc  δU c
 
 
Xc ¼  V c ; δUc ¼  δV c ð25Þ
 
0 0 3
2Es hs 2Es hs λcr
V a ;XXX ðLÞ þ V a ;X ðLÞ
3 L
2.4. Formulation of the bifurcation problem  hs μc ðU c ;Y ðL;  hc Þ þV c ;X ðL;  hc ÞÞ ¼ 0

The global bifurcation equation writes

Z 2Es hs
3
2Es hs λcr
8 δU a ; δV a ; δU b ; δV b ; δU c ; δV c ; ½Es ðU a ;X  YV a ;XX ÞðδU a ;X  YδV a ;XX Þ V b ;XXX ð0Þ þ V b ;X ð0Þ
Ωa
3 L
  hs μc ðU c ;Y ð0; hc Þ þ V c ;X ð0; hc ÞÞ ¼ 0
Es λcr Es λcr
 ðU a ;X YV a ;XX ÞðδU a ;X  YδV a ;XX Þ  V a ;X δV a ;X dΩa
L L
Z
3
þ ½Es ðU b ;X  YV b ;XX ÞðδU b ;X  YδV b ;XX Þ 2Es hs 2Es hs λcr
V b ;XXX ðLÞ þ V b ;X ðLÞ
Ωb 3 L
72 P. Le Grognec, K. Sad Saoud / International Journal of Non-Linear Mechanics 72 (2015) 67–79

 hs μc ðU c ;Y ðL; hc Þ þ V c ;X ðL; hc ÞÞ ¼ 0 ð29Þ where k1 , k2 , k3 and k4 are constants which depend on α and β.
Then, Eqs. (27a) and (27c) are solved in order to determine α and β
The last boundary conditions refer to the two remaining edges
which turn out to be opposite from each other.
of the foam zone. The enforced displacement boundary conditions
Conversely, in the symmetric case, ζðYÞ and ξðYÞ become even
induce kinematical constraints for the axial component of the
and odd functions, respectively, and α ¼ β.
bifurcation mode at X ¼ 0 and X ¼ L, that is to say
In both cases, the remaining boundary conditions are auto-
Uc j X ¼ 0ð ¼ Ua j X ¼ 0 ¼ Ub j X ¼ 0Þ ¼ 0 matically verified. Finally, Eqs. (27b) or (27d) can be solved and
8 Y A   hc ; hc ½; ð30Þ
Uc j X ¼ Lð ¼ Ua j X ¼ L ¼ Ub j X ¼ LÞ ¼ 0 lead to the same critical displacements.
Explicit forms of the critical displacements and the associated
Since these two edges are free in the Y-direction, the last two bifurcation modes were determined in all cases, but they are too
equations consist in the following stress boundary conditions: cumbersome to be presented as closed-form expressions.
μc ðU c ;Y þV c ;X Þj X ¼ 0 ¼ 0
μc ðU c ;Y þV c ;X Þj X ¼ L ¼ 0 ð31Þ 2.5.2. Elastic core material
The case of an elastic core material has already been covered by
one of the authors in Douville and Le Grognec [17]. The solution
2.5. Solution procedure
procedure is similar to that presented above in the elastoplastic
case and, therefore, only the main results will be recalled here for
The following assumptions are made for the beam components
future use in Section 4. Owing to the simple expression of the
of the bifurcation mode of the sandwich column, in accordance
elastic moduli, the partial differential equations (27) take here a
with the boundary conditions defined above and preliminary
particular form. Among other things, the last two equations (27e)
numerical observations:
and (27f) identify with the classical local equilibrium equations of
8 nπX
> the core region in a 2D framework. In the case of an antisymmetric
>
> U ¼ α sin
> a
> L mode, the corresponding solution takes the following degenerated
>
>
>
> nπX form:
> U
< b ¼ β sin
L 8
ð32Þ > nπY nπY
>
> nπX >
< ζðYÞ ¼ k1 sinh þ k2 Ycosh
>
> V a ¼ 7 cos L L
>
> L ð35Þ
>
> > nπY nπY
>
> nπX >
: ξðYÞ ¼ k3 cosh þ k4 Ysinh
: V b ¼ cos L L
L
with the same notations as before. The roles of functions ζðYÞ and
where n is an arbitrary half-wave number.
ξðYÞ are reversed in the case of a symmetric mode.
Regarding the transverse components of the bifurcation mode,
The same rules apply for α and β and Eqs. (27b) and (27d)
due to the symmetry of the sandwich column, the same unit
finally lead to the following closed-form expressions of the critical
amplitude is retained for both faces. However, two cases are
displacements, in the antisymmetric and symmetric cases, respec-
considered, depending on the relative sign of the two fields V a
tively:
and V b . The bifurcation mode of the sandwich column may thus be

antisymmetric (V a ¼ V b ) or symmetric (V a ¼  V b ). Besides, sinu- 2
λAcr ¼ 4Es Ec nπL2 hs ½4n2 π 2 hs þ 3L2 cosh
2 nπhc 2
þ ½3E2c L5 þ 12Es Ec n2 π 2 L3 hs ð1  νc Þ
soidal shapes are also retained for the longitudinal components, L
together with unknown amplitudes α and β to be determined. 4 nπhc nπhc
Concerning the foam modal displacement field, a separation of þ 4E2s n4 π 4 Lhs ð3 þ 2νc  ν2c Þcosh sinh  3Ec nπL4 ½4Es hs þ Ec hc 
L L
 
variables is performed and the following forms are presupposed, 2 4
þ 12Es Ec n3 π 3 L2 hs hc ½1þ νc  þ 4E2s n5 π 5 hs hc ½1 þ νc 2 = 12Es nπLhs Ec L2 cosh
2 nπhc

according to Eq. (32): L

8 
> nπX nπhc nπhc
>
< U c ¼ ζðYÞ sin þ Es nπhs Lð3 þ 2νc  ν2c Þcosh sinh þ Es n2 π 2 hs hc ð1 þ νc Þ2
L L L
ð33Þ
>
> nπX ð36Þ
: V c ¼ ξðYÞ cos
L

2 2 nπhc 2
λScr ¼ 4Es Ec nπL2 hs ½4n2 π 2 hs þ 3L2 cosh þ ½3E2c L5 þ 12Es Ec n2 π 2 L3 hs ð1  νc Þ
L
2.5.1. Elastoplastic core material
4 nπhc nπhc
In the antisymmetric case, solving the two partial differential þ 4E2s n4 π 4 Lhs ð3 þ 2νc  ν2c Þcosh sinh þ 3E2c nπL4 hc
L L
equations in the foam core (27e) and (27f), together with the four 
3 2 4
 16Es Ec n3 π 3 L2 hs  12Es Ec n3 π 3 L2 hs hc ½1 þ νc   4E2s n5 π 5 hs hc ½1 þ νc 2
connecting conditions (28), leads to the following expressions for 
ζðYÞ and ξðYÞ which prove to be odd and even functions, respec- = 12Es nπLhs Ec L2 cosh
2 nπhc
þ Es nπhs Lð3 þ 2νc  ν2c Þcosh
nπhc
sinh
nπhc
tively: L L L
i
8 0 pffiffiffi sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi 1  Ec L2  Es n2 π 2 hs hc ð1 þνc Þ2 ð37Þ
>
> π 2 3ETc  Ec  3 ETc ðETc Ec Þ A
>
> ζðYÞ ¼ k1 sinh @ nY
>
>
>
> 2L Ec
>
>
>
> 0 pffiffiffi sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi 1
>
>
>
> π 2 3ETc  Ec þ 3 ETc ðETc  Ec Þ A 3. Numerical modeling of the post-buckling behavior
>
> þ k sinh@ nY
>
>
2
2L Ec
<
0 pffiffiffi sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi 1 ð34Þ So far, the buckling response of a sandwich column under axial
>
> π   ETc ðETc  Ec Þ A compression has been analytically derived, both in the cases of an
>
> ξðYÞ ¼ k3 cosh@ 2 3E Tc E c 3
>
> nY
>
> 2L Ec elastic and elastoplastic core material. Next, use will be made of a
>
>
> 0 pffiffiffi sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi bespoke finite element program in order to validate the previous
>
>
> pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi 1
>
> π 2 3E  E þ 3 ETc ðETc Ec Þ A analytical solutions (particularly those in plasticity which have not
>
> þ k4 cosh@
Tc c
>
> nY
yet been validated) and investigate the post-buckling behavior of
: 2L Ec
such structures. Developed within a total Lagrangian framework,
 P. Le Grognec, K. Sad Saoud / International Journal of Non-Linear Mechanics 72 (2015) 67–79
the program used here encompasses plasticity and geometric non-
linearities (finite displacements) in order to deal with plastic
buckling and advanced post-critical behaviors. It also includes
additional branch-switching and arc-length methods [37–40] in
order to bifurcate at any primary or secondary critical point
(without the use of initial imperfections) and pass through load
or displacement limit points on the bifurcated paths.
3.1. Finite element model
For the computations of interest, a 2D geometry is retained,
where the foam core but also the two skins are represented by a
2D continuous solid satisfying the plane stress assumption. The
equation set for finite elastoplasticity is established on the basis of
a total Lagrangian formulation and the generalized standard
materials theory. Use is made of the von Mises yield criterion
with a linear isotropic hardening in the core layer. The implicit
Euler scheme and an algorithm of radial return type (in plane
stresses) are employed so as to integrate the state and evolution
laws and compute the plastic strains and the stresses, together
with the reduced consistent elastoplastic tangent tensor.
The surface is then discretized using eight-noded isoparametric
quadrangular elements (involving quadratic shape functions) with
reduced integration. Eventually, the virtual work principle yields
the discretized non-linear equations of the problem:
fRðUÞg ¼ fΨ g  fΦg ¼ f0g
where fUg denotes the nodal displacement vector of the whole
structure, fRg the residual vector, and fΨ g and fΦg are the internal
and external force vectors, respectively.
The non-linear equation system (38) is solved by the iterative
Newton–Raphson procedure, which requires the computation of
the structural tangent stiffness matrix:
∂fRðUÞg
½KT  ¼
∂fUg
3.2. Arc-length method
The nodal displacement vector is split into two parts: one
denoted by fUg~ contains the unknown degrees of freedom, the
other denoted by fUg contains the prescribed degrees of freedom.
The external force and the tangent stiffness matrix are split in a
similar way:
( ) ( ) 2 3
~
~
U ~
Φ K~ T K~ T
fUg ¼ ; fΦg ¼ ; ½KT  ¼ 4 5 ð40Þ
U Φ K~ T K T
The computer program is developed so as to handle both
prescribed loads and prescribed displacements in a unified way.
Either the prescribed displacement or the external load is assumed
to be proportional:
0 ref
fUg ¼ fU g þ λfU g
~ ¼ λfΦ
fΦg ~ ref
g ð41Þ
ref
where λ is the control parameter and fU g and fΦ ~ ref g denote
0
reference prescribed quantities (vector fU g related to zero pre-
scribed displacements does not change the value of fUg).
At each increment, the quadratic arc-length method is used in
order to proceed on the equilibrium branches, given a specified
arc-length Δl (see [37,41]). The constraint equation is either of the
following relations, depending on whether one has a proportional
prescribed displacement or loading:
~ 2 þ Δλ2 ‖U ‖2 ¼ Δl ref 2 mode sequence is analyzed in a few cases, varying the most influential
‖ΔU‖
~ 2 þ Δλ2 C 2 ¼ Δl2
‖ΔU‖
ref
73
where C ref is a scale parameter which makes the relation con-
sistent dimensionally.
Combining Eq. (42) with the equilibrium equations leads to a
quadratic equation. When solving this quadratic equation, one
may encounter severe computational difficulties due to complex
roots which occur repeatedly. It is found that an efficient way to
cope with these complex roots is to modify the standard solution
scheme according to Lam and Morley [39]. The main idea is to
project the residual force onto the external load vector. At a
current iteration where complex roots occur, the residual force is
split into one component in the load direction and another
component orthogonal to this load. The last component is mainly
responsible for the complex roots and should be eliminated.
3.3. Branch-switching
Branch-switching techniques are included in the numerical
procedure in order to detect the bifurcation points and bifurcate
onto a given branch. Specific methods are implemented following
[37,38] and [40]. The four fundamental steps are given below:
1. At the end of each increment, it must be checked whether
one has gone across one or several critical points. The detection of
critical points is based on the singularity of the tangent stiffness
matrix, which is factorized following the Crout formula. The
critical points are determined by counting the negative pivot
ð38Þ number.
2. Each critical point detected has to be isolated in order to
determine its nature: limit point or bifurcation point. To do this,
the current arc-length Δl is re-estimated several times using a
dichotomy-like method. In the case of prescribed loads, a simple
way to distinguish a limit point from a bifurcation point is to
determine the sign of the so-called current stiffness parameter
introduced by Bergan et al. [42]:
ref T
ð39Þ ~
fΦ g fU~ Φref g
k¼ ð43Þ
~ T
fU Φref g fU~ Φref g
where fU ~ Φref g ¼ ½K~~ T   1 fΦ
~ ref g. The sign of parameter k changes
when passing a limit point, whereas it remains unchanged when
passing a bifurcation point. In the case of prescribed displace-
ments, parameter k is computed by
ref T
fK~ T U g fU~ Uref g
k¼  ð44Þ
~ T
~
fU Uref g fU Uref g
where fU ~ Uref g ¼  ½K~~ T   1 fK~ T U ref g.
3. If it is a bifurcation point, the step increment is renewed so as
to reach a point just behind the bifurcation point.
4. Finally, the switching on a bifurcated branch is performed
using the mode injection method [40]: at the first step of a
bifurcating branch, the eigenvector fZg, ~ solution of ½K~~ T fZg
~ ¼ f0g,
is computed and the following predictions are used:
n o ~
δλ ¼ 0; ~ ¼ 7 fZg
δU ð45Þ
J Z~ J
4. Results and analysis
This section is devoted to the validation and analysis of the results
obtained with both the analytical and numerical approaches. The
analytical plastic buckling solutions are first investigated. After valida-
tion by comparison with the numerical results jointly obtained, the
elastoplastic critical values are compared to the elastic ones and the
parameters. Then, using again the numerical tool, the exact post-
ð42Þ
critical elastic and elastoplastic behavior is addressed and several typ-
74 P. Le Grognec, K. Sad Saoud / International Journal of Non-Linear Mechanics 72 (2015) 67–79
ical post-buckling responses, already reported in the literature, are
described up to advanced deformation states, possibly involving
secondary bifurcation phenomena.
4.1. Elastoplastic analytical results
In this subsection, a set of four different sandwich columns is
considered, with constant geometric and material parameters,
except from the core thickness and the hardening modulus, which
have proved to be the most influential parameters on the buckling
response. The following illustrative examples (whose geometric
and material parameters are summarized in Table 1) are supposed
to exhibit all the possible buckling patterns. The elastoplastic case
will first be analyzed with a particular attention to the very first
critical displacement (namely the minimum critical value) and the
related buckling mode. Besides, for each instance, this minimum
critical displacement and the associated bifurcation mode will also
be obtained incrementally using the bespoke 2D finite element
software, and compared with the analytical solution for validation
purposes. In order to observe the influence of plasticity in the core
material, the elastic critical values given by Eqs. (36) and (37) will
also be plotted together with the elastoplastic ones, in the
antisymmetric and symmetric cases, respectively.
4.1.1. Case 1: hc ¼ 10 mm – H c ¼ 7 MPa
The elastoplastic antisymmetric and symmetric critical displace-
ments are first plotted against the number of half-waves in Fig. 3(a).
The first noteworthy point is that the antisymmetric modes precede
the symmetric ones for sufficiently small wave numbers, after which
the trend is reversed and, finally, the two curves tend to join each other
for large wave numbers. This feature is specific to the elastoplastic case
as the previous investigations on entirely elastic sandwiches have
shown that the symmetric critical values were always greater than (or
at most equal to) the antisymmetric ones. Nevertheless, the lowest
critical value in this case (λanal
cr ¼ 1:14 mm) corresponds to the so-called
global (antisymmetric) mode.
The same sandwich is now examined numerically. As described
above in the theoretical part, the appropriate displacement
boundary conditions are applied at both ends of the sandwich
column, and an additional transverse displacement is fixed in
order to prevent the structure from rigid modes (the reason for the
particular choice of enforced displacement boundary conditions is
that it gives rise to piecewise perfectly uniform stress/strain states
in the sandwich column during the pre-critical stage, as shown in
[17]). A few preliminary mesh convergence tests lead us to adopt
the same mesh for all the following calculations, displaying 100
elements along the length, 9 elements within the thickness of the
core and only 1 element in the thickness of each skin. The yield
stress σ c0 is taken small enough so that the plastification of the
foam core occurs before the tangent modulus critical load is
reached. Finally, the first critical displacement obtained here
(λnum ¼ 1:11 mm) is in good agreement with the previous analy-
cr
tical value and corresponds to the same global mode.
Besides, the elastic antisymmetric and symmetric critical
values given by Eqs. (36) and (37) are displayed together with
the previous elastoplastic solutions in Fig. 3(b) and (c), respec-
tively. One can observe that the first buckling mode is global in
both elastic and plastic cases. Moreover, the antisymmetric critical
displacement is not really affected by the elastic/plastic nature of
Table 1
Material and geometric parameters.
Es ðMPaÞ Ec ðMPaÞ H c ðMPaÞ νc L ðmmÞ hs ðmmÞ hc ðmmÞ
50 000 70 7–52.5 0.4 300 0.5 10–15–30
the core behavior for a small number of half-waves. This may be
due to the fact that, when displaying such global modes, the core
contribution is mainly governed by its shear behavior, which turns
out to be the same in elasticity and plasticity. Conversely, when
dealing with local modes (for sufficiently high half-wave num-
bers), the elastic and plastic critical values differ significantly from
each other.
4.1.2. Case 2: hc ¼ 30 mm – H c ¼ 7 MPa
In this second case, due to the greater thickness of the foam
core, both the elastic and plastic first buckling modes turn out to
be local (see Fig. 4). However, unlike the elastic case where the
same problem gives rise to a first antisymmetric buckling mode,
the first bifurcation mode here is symmetric, displaying 7 half-
waves (the minimum critical value is λanal
cr ¼ 1:06 mm).
This problem is also addressed numerically using the same
procedure as in case 1. The numerical results appear to be
consistent with the analytical ones (λnum ¼ 1:02 mm and the
cr
buckling mode is also symmetric with 7 half-waves). As shown
in Fig. 4(b), for half-wave numbers large enough, the elastic/plastic
nature of the core may strongly influence the critical values.
Therefore, for the same sandwich configuration, the buckling
mode type (antisymmetric or symmetric) and its half-wave
number may be different depending upon whether the core
material is elastic or elastoplastic.
4.1.3. Case 3: hc ¼ 30 mm – H c ¼ 52:5 MPa
Let us now examine the same previous sandwich column with
a larger hardening modulus, which is almost the only material
parameter involved in plasticity. Numerous calculations have
shown that the antisymmetric and symmetric critical displace-
ments (for given half-wave numbers) become increasingly close to
each other when strengthening the hardening modulus. For
example, choosing H c ¼ 52:5 MPa leads to the specific instance
illustrated in Fig. 5, where the antisymmetric and symmetric
critical values are coincident for most of the half-wave numbers.
When considering the critical displacements in ascending order,
the buckling modes are thus alternatively antisymmetric and
symmetric and, particularly, the very first mode is antisymmetric
(with λanal
cr ¼ 1:87 mm and n ¼15). A numerical computation was
performed in accordance with the foregoing, which confirms once
again the validity of the analytical predictions (λnum
cr ¼ 1:84 mm
and the buckling mode is symmetric with n ¼15, which is
completely fair since the antisymmetric and symmetric values
are coincident).
4.1.4. Case 4: hc ¼ 15 mm – H c ¼ 7 MPa
Up to now, in the previous configurations, the first bifurcation
mode type (global or local) is the same in both elastic and plastic
cases. Let us consider finally the same sandwich column with an
intermediate core thickness. In this special case, the column may
buckle into a global or local mode, depending on whether the core
material is elastic or elastoplastic, as depicted in Fig. 6(b). In
plasticity, symmetric modes first occur within a large range of
half-wave numbers, as shown in Fig. 6(a). Specifically, the mini-
mum critical value (λanal
cr ¼ 0:96 mm) corresponds to a symmetric
mode with 13 half-waves. These statements were confirmed again
thanks to the same numerical procedure as in the previous
examples (the same mode is obtained with λnum cr ¼ 0:94 mm).
Eventually, Table 2 sums up the main results (minimum critical
values and associated half-wave numbers) from all the cases
discussed in this subsection, for clarity purposes.
 P. Le Grognec, K. Sad Saoud / International Journal of Non-Linear Mechanics 72 (2015) 67–79 75

Fig. 3. Critical displacements of a sandwich column with elastic/plastic foam core (case 1). (a) Antisymmetric and symmetric elastoplastic critical values. (b) Antisymmetric
elastic and plastic critical values. (c) Symmetric elastic and plastic critical values.

Fig. 4. Critical displacements of a sandwich column with elastic/plastic foam core (case 2). (a) Antisymmetric and symmetric elastoplastic critical values. (b) Antisymmetric
elastic and plastic critical values. (c) Symmetric elastic and plastic critical values.
76 P. Le Grognec, K. Sad Saoud / International Journal of Non-Linear Mechanics 72 (2015) 67–79
4.2. Numerical analysis of the elastic and plastic post-buckling
4.2.1. Case of an elastic core material
During the post-buckling range, two situations may occur
depending on the core-to-skin thickness ratio. It has been demon-
strated in Douville and Le Grognec [17] that for sufficiently small
ratios, the critical value corresponding to the global mode is far
lower than the one corresponding to the first local mode, if it
exists. Conversely, for very large ratios, the critical value for a unit
half-wave number greatly overestimates the minimum local cri-
tical value. In both cases, as long as elasticity is concerned, the
post-critical behavior is stable and consists in an amplification of
the modal deformed shape, regardless of whether the mode is
local or global.
Fig. 5. Critical displacements of a sandwich column with elastoplastic foam core
(case 3).
Fig. 6. Critical displacements of a sandwich column with elastic/plastic foam core (case 4). (a) Antisymmetric and symmetric elastoplastic critical values. (b) Antisymmetric
elastic and plastic critical values. (c) Symmetric elastic and plastic critical values.
For intermediate thickness ratios, the global and minimum local
critical values are sufficiently close to each other so that the modal
interaction phenomenon may occur during the post-critical response.
In practice, after the primary mode and a stable immediate post-
buckling behavior, a secondary bifurcation appears, which corre-
sponds to a local mode if the primary mode is global and vice versa.
The secondary post-bifurcated branch always reflects an unstable
behavior which fatally leads to collapse. Fig. 7 sums up the different
behaviors encountered according to the thickness ratio.
For the sake of brevity, only two illustrative examples will be
addressed in the sequel, always involving a modal interaction
phenomenon. In all cases, the numerical force Fnum normalized by
the analytical critical force Fanal
cr is plotted versus the applied
compressive displacement unum normalized by the analytical
critical displacement λcr. Given that the uniaxial stresses in the
pre-critical state are negligible in the foam core and identical for
the two skins, the analytical critical force can be related to the
critical enforced displacement as follows:
2AEs
F anal
cr ¼ λcr ð46Þ
L
where A is the cross-sectional area of one skin layer.
First, the sandwich column of case 1 is considered with an
elastic core material. The associated post-buckling response is
depicted in Fig. 8. One can readily notice that this equilibrium
curve displays three successive parts. The first part is linear and
represents the proportional evolution of the force with the
enforced displacement, during the pre-critical stage. It ends by
the occurrence of a primary bifurcation point, which is followed by
a plateau. This second part, corresponding to the primary post-
bifurcated branch, continues until the emergence of a secondary
bifurcation point. From this point, the third part is characterized
 P. Le Grognec, K. Sad Saoud / International Journal of Non-Linear Mechanics 72 (2015) 67–79 77

by a significant drop of the whole sandwich strength leading to an Now, let us consider the sandwich column of case 2 with a
unstable collapse. thicker core layer, still in elasticity. Unlike the previous case, the
Two successive deformed shapes (observed at advanced post- analytical solution predicts a local antisymmetric primary buckling
critical states after each successive bifurcation point) are illu- mode. The post-critical response depicted in Fig. 10 shows that, as
strated in Fig. 9. The sandwich column buckles first according to a soon as the first bifurcation point is reached, it is tracked by a
global mode (Fig. 9(a)). Then, the occurrence of the secondary second critical point.
bifurcation point is marked by the appearance of corrugations As expected analytically, the primary post-buckled deformed
starting from the ends of the skins, as shown in Fig. 9(b). Several shape illustrated in Fig. 11(a) is local. Once the secondary point is
computations have shown that these geometric localizations may attained, the local mode interacts with a global one leading to the
be more or less likely to spread along the sandwich column, final deformed shape displayed in Fig. 11(b). The same tendency
mainly depending on the thickness ratio hc =hs . Note that, with a was dealt with in Hu et al. [43], using a beam-like finite element
few adjustments in the boundary conditions and the use of model based on the theoretical assumptions of Léotoing et al. [12].
geometric imperfections, this global–local interaction was already
discussed in Léotoing et al. [29] (by the way, the numerical 4.2.2. Case of an elastoplastic core material
investigations performed by these authors have shown that this A series of calculations was carried out in the case of an
problem is very sensitive to the form and size of the initial elastoplastic core material, varying the core thickness. The yield
imperfection). In the present study, the numerical solution does stress σ c0 was chosen small enough such that buckling occurs in the
not depend anymore on any imperfection since the true critical plastic regime. Examples where the buckling phenomenon takes
values are obtained here together with the perfect equilibrium place in the elastic regime (and the plastic flow arises after the
curves. primary or secondary bifurcation point) were also treated but the
results achieved are not presented here for brevity reasons. In such
cases, the post-critical response often appears quite similar to
Table 2 those stated above. The most significant difference concerns the
Analytical and numerical elastoplastic minimum critical displacements and the unstable secondary behavior, namely the drop of the sandwich
corresponding half-wave numbers of four different sandwich columns.
strength which is sharper in plasticity. Alternatively, Fig. 12 dis-
Case nanal λanal ðmmÞ nnum λnum ðmmÞ plays an illustrative example of the typical response of a sandwich
cr cr
column which buckles plastically in a primary local mode (the core
1 1 (anti) 1.14 1 (anti) 1.11 thickness is taken equal to 35 mm, the hardening modulus equals
2 7 (sym) 1.06 7 (sym) 1.02 50 MPa and the yield stress is 0.28 MPa, the remaining material
3 15 (anti) 1.87 15 (sym) 1.84
and geometric properties being nearly those considered in the
4 13 (sym) 0.96 13 (sym) 0.94
previous part). Instead of a secondary bifurcation point, the first
critical point is here immediately followed by a limit load where
localizations of the deformed shape may arise as depicted in
Fig. 12 (at the ends and/or the center of the sandwich column).
This phenomenon (and thus the same features in the force–
displacement curve and advanced post-critical deformed shape)
has already been observed in many plastic buckling applications,
such as cylindrical shells under axial compression. Dealing here
Fig. 7. Buckling types in sandwich columns. with sandwich structures, the localization of the deformations in

Fig. 8. Force-end shortening response of a sandwich column with an elastic Fig. 10. Force-end shortening response of a sandwich column with an elastic
foam core. foam core.

Fig. 9. Global–local interaction phenomenon in a sandwich column (deformation scale factor ¼1). (a) Global primary deformed shape. (b) Local secondary deformed shape.
78 P. Le Grognec, K. Sad Saoud / International Journal of Non-Linear Mechanics 72 (2015) 67–79
Fig. 11. Local–global interaction phenomenon in a sandwich column (deformation scale factor¼ 10). (a) Local primary deformed shape. (b) Global secondary deformed shape.
Fig. 12. Typical elastoplastic post-critical response of a sandwich column (defor-
mation scale factor¼2).
Fig. 13. Shear crimping behavior (deformation scale factor¼ 2).
one or a few wrinkles, when increasing the enforced displacement,
is due to the elastoplastic nature of the core material, and it can be
observed also with non-linear elastic cores, as shown in Hunt and
Wadee [20]. The force–displacement curve particularly displays a
very sharp snap-back phenomenon which is rather difficult to
handle and necessitates the special attention paid to the arc-
length method in the numerical program.
Under some particular conditions, the core material may fail in
shear due to its low transverse shear modulus. This phenomenon,
referred to as shear crimping and generally viewed as a global
instability, was quite investigated in the last decades and Sullins
et al. [5], among others, provided related design rules for axially
compressed sandwich structures.
In the sequel, this special case is illustrated by considering a
particular example from Léotoing et al. [29]. Table 3 provides the
corresponding geometric and material properties. Let us mention
that, unlike Léotoing et al. [29], one describes here the shear
crimping response of the perfect sandwich column, without the use
of any imperfection (this highly instable behavior is shown again to
be very sensitive to imperfections). The shear crimping phenomenon
can be viewed here as the material localization of the global post-
critical response which occurs almost simultaneously with the
Table 3
Material and geometric parameters.
Es ðMPaÞ Ec ðMPaÞ νc L ðmmÞ hs ðmmÞ hc ðmmÞ H c ðMPaÞ σ c0 ðMPaÞ
70 000 175 0.4 470 0.9 25 150 1.21
buckling phenomenon (see Fig. 13), in such a way that the limit
and bifurcation points are here nearly coincident.
5. Conclusions
In this paper, the buckling and post-buckling behavior of
sandwich columns under axial compression has been investigated,
considering either an elastic or an elastoplastic foam core. Analy-
tical solutions were first derived for the critical displacements and
buckling modes, encompassing both global and local, antisym-
metric and symmetric cases. The plastic bifurcation analysis is first
performed in a general 3D framework and then particularized to
the case of a sandwich column represented by an hybrid model
where the skins are classically modeled by Euler–Bernoulli beams
while the core layer behaves as a 2D continuous solid. A few
parametric analyses have been performed and two particular
features can be reported in plasticity, in comparison with the
elastic solutions already achieved in a previous study [17]:
 Elastic and elastoplastic critical values almost coincide for small
wave numbers and particularly for the global mode.
 Contrary to the elastic case, in plasticity, when the hardening
modulus is small enough, the symmetric critical values are
likely to drop down below the antisymmetric ones, so that the
minimum critical value may correspond to a symmetric
local mode.
Then, a 2D finite element model, including finite plasticity, arc-
length methods and branch-switching procedures, has been
implemented and utilized in order to deal with the elastic/plastic
post-buckling response of sandwich columns up to advanced
deformation states. The critical values, obtained here in an incre-
mental way, allow one to validate the previous analytical solutions.
Furthermore, such a numerical tool enables one to browse most of
the possible post-buckling responses.
In elasticity, it is shown that secondary bifurcation points may
generally occur for most of the geometric and material configura-
tions, due to the modal interaction phenomena and leading to
unstable collapse. In plasticity, no secondary bifurcation point is
observed but the primary deformed shapes, either local or global,
tend to localize, what corresponds in most cases to a sharp snap-
back phenomenon. In all cases, the true elastoplastic primary and
secondary bifurcation points are calculated with a very good
accuracy, without resorting to initial imperfections.
Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful to the Nord-Pas-de-Calais Regional
Council (France) for its financial support.
 P. Le Grognec, K. Sad Saoud / International Journal of Non-Linear Mechanics 72 (2015) 67–79
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