Air University Aerospace & Aviation Campus, Kamra

MASTER’S THESIS SYNOPSIS

Student Name: Wajihuddin Qazi

Reg. ID: 185110

Department: Aerospace Engineering

Advisor Name: Dr. Faisal Siddiqui Signature:

Thesis Topic:
Stability analysis of composite sandwich structure using EHSAPT.

Objective:
Extend the existing solution of Extended Higher-order Sandwich Plate Theory
(EHSAPT) by incorporating the effects of buckling/stability.

Brief Description of Proposed Research:

This research aims to extend the solution of EHSAPT by incorporating the effects of
buckling/stability. Governing Differential Equation of the mentioned theory will be analytically
tailored such that this theory can also be approximated for the solution of structural stability of
sandwich composite structures. The analytical model can then be formulated which will be a
small extension of the said theory but will give better results for composite structural instability.
The new solution will then be verified by solving few engineering problems.

Literature Survey/Previous Work:

Kirchhoff [1] presented The Classical Plate Theory (CPT) which is the simplest theoretical
model on the behavior of plates. The assumptions taken in this theory are as follows:
• Transverse normal before and after deformation remain straight
• Transverse normal do not experience elongation
• Transverse normal remains perpendicular to middle surface after rotation
. Unfortunately, this theory fails to capture the shear stresses in the plate and therefore
gives inaccurate results for a thick plate. Hence, an alternative theory was needed which can
give accurate results for both thin and thick plates.
This alternative was presented by Mindlin [2] and Reissner [3] in form of First-order
Shear Deformation Theory (FSDT) which neglects the third assumption of CPT. Majority of
the theoretical formulations built for sandwich plates assumes that thin face sheets obey the
assumptions of CPT while soft core does not.
Tounsi et al. [4] presented a refined trigonometric shear deformation theory for
analyzing functionally graded sandwich plates under thermo-elastic bending loads. In this
model shear stress distribution is predicted to be parabolic in the thickness direction, therefore
satisfying that shear stress are zero at free surfaces. This model also has less number of
unknowns making this theoretical model simpler in application.
Recently, Siddiqui [5] proposed an extended higher-order theory for sandwich plates
with arbitrary aspect ratio also known as EHSAPT. In this formulation, all six strains in the core
were considered to be non-zero, thus fully capturing the compressibility effects of the core in
all three directions.
 Air University Aerospace & Aviation Campus, Kamra

Reasons/Justifications for Selection of the Topic:

Advancements in technology have paved the way for transition of composite structures from
secondary to primary structural components. These composite structures have high strength
to weight ratio, therefore, can sustain higher loads. Sooner the industry demand thicker
composite structures to be designed. This requirement of thick composite structures has given
rise to composite structures known as sandwich plates. Sandwich plates results have high
stiffness and strength, capability to absorb energy and higher strength-to-weight ratio. Due to
these advantages, sandwich plates are finding their applications in the field of aerospace, wind
turbines, marine and civil industries. Therefore, accurate theoretical explanations are of prime
importance based on which this class of structures can be analyzed accurately. As discussed
in the previous para,

Scope of the Project/Deliverables:

The aim of this research is to extend the existing solution of Extended Higher-order Sandwich
Plate Theory (EHSAPT) to cater the effects of buckling/stability.

Areas of Application:
Major use of this research will be in aviation industry for designing and analysis of
aerospace structures. Moreover, this approach can also be used anywhere where composite
structures are used such as naval structures, tank structures etc.

Bibliography:
1. About the balance and the movement of an elastic disc by G. Kirchoff; J Pure Appl Math
(Crelle's J), 40 (1850), pp. 51-88

2. Influence of rotatory inertia and shear on flexural motions of isotropic, elastic plates by
R.D. Mindlin; J Appl Mech, 18 (1) (1951), pp. 31-38

3. The effect of transverse shear deformation on the bending of elastic plates by E. Reissner;
AMSE J appl Mech, 12 (1945), pp. A69-A77

4. A refined trigonometric shear deformation theory for thermoelastic bending of functionally

graded sandwich plates by A. Tounsi, M.S.A. Houari, S. Benyoucef; Aerospace Science
and Technology, Volume 24, Issue 1, January–February 2013, Pages 209-220.

5. Extended higher order theory for sandwich plates of arbitrary aspect ratio by F. K. Siddiqui;
Georgia Institute of Technology, Atalanta, GA (2015)