Numerical simulation of the progressive collapse of polymer composite sandwich beams under static loading

Experimental results are given for the progressive collapse of polymer comp osite sandwich beams with construction typical of high performance marine v ehicles. The skins consist of a unidirectional glass epoxy pre-preg (SP Sys tems SE84) laid up in a crossply form. The core is made from either Divinyc ell H100 (100 kg m(-3)) or H200 (200 kg m(-3)) foam. A two-dimensional nume rical simulation of the progressive collapse of these beams is achieved usi ng the finite element code ABAQUS/Standard. The paper focuses on the materi al properties required as input into the numerical model. This includes lam inate damage in the upper skin and the multi-axial crushing of the foam cor e. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.