Analysis of multiple-core sandwich cylindrical shells using a sublaminate formulation

An advanced modelling approach is presented for the linear analysis of multilayered cylindrical shells. It relies on the combined use of a sublaminate shell formulation along with the Ritz method. The approach is particularly suitable for the analysis of sandwich shells, and can be naturally applied for studying non-conventional configurations characterized by the presence of multiple cores. The formulation relies upon a displacement-based approach and makes it possible the analysis of thin and thick configurations, without restrictions regarding the shallowness of the shell. The quality of the predictions is assessed by comparison against 3D solutions, and the advantages offered by current modeling approach are highlighted in terms of required theory-related degrees of freedom. The flexibility of the formulation is exploited to illustrate the analysis of a triple-core sandwich panel, giving evidence of the advantages offered by the proposed approach for modeling shells characterized by an arbitrary degree of complexity. Novel results are presented for future benchmarking purposes.