An extended cohesive damage model study of geometrical ratio effects on failure mechanisms of functionally graded sandwiches with multi-layered cores

An investigation of geometrical ratio effects on failure mechanisms of functionally graded sandwiches with multi-layered cores (FGSMLC) is presented in this paper. The extended cohesive damage model (ECDM) is used in detailed investigations of geometrical ratio effects on the failure mechanisms of the FGSMLC under three-point bending. The ECDM prediction shows very good agreements with previous experimental work. The ECDM prediction reveals that the FGSMLC with 8-layered graded cores shows loading capacities increased by 64% compared to the one with a homogeneous core in all investigated cases with varied spans. The FGSMLC behaves different failure modes when their geometrical ratio between the depth and the span varies. It is the first time that this investigation explores the correlation between the failure load and the geometrical ratio of the FGSMLC. This investigation provides a sustainable approach to predict detailed failure mechanisms of the FGSMLC in further research and industrial applications.