• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.1321-1331
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• 2015

A square steel sandwich plate with lattice corrugated core is explored for damping improvement. A range of damping materials are filled inside the openings provided by the corrugated core, or are applied on the surfaces of the facesheets. The dynamic properties such as natural frequency and damping factor are experimentally measured for the sandwich plate with each filling solution. The relative performance of each insertion is compared in terms of damping capacity and added mass.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.461-477
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• 2016

Steel-concrete-steel (SCS) sandwich composite wall has been proposed for building and offshore constructions. An ultra-lightweight cement composite with density1380 kg/m3 and compressive strength up to 60 MPa is used as core material and inter-locking J-hook connectors are welded on the steel face plates to achieve the composite action. This paper presents the numerical models using nonlinear finite element analysis to investigate the load displacement behavior of SCS sandwich walls subjected to axial compression. The results obtained from finite element analysis are verified against the test results to establish its accuracy in predicting load-displacement curves, maximum resistance and failure modes of the sandwich walls. The studies show that the inter-locking J-hook connectors are subjected to tension force due to the lateral expansion of cement composite core under compression. This signifies the important role of the interlocking effect of J-hook connectors in preventing tensile separation of the steel face plates so that the local buckling of steel face plates is prevented.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.71 no.3
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• pp.283-290
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• 2019

In global competition manufacturing companies have to produce modern, new constructions from advanced materials in order to increase competitiveness. The aim of my research was to develop a new composite cellular plate structure, which can be primarily used for structural elements of road, rail, water and air transport vehicles (e.g. vehicle bodies, ship floors). The new structure is novel and innovative, because all materials of the components of the newly developed structure are composites (laminated Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic (CFRP) deck plates with pultruded Glass Fiber Reinforced Plastic (GFRP) stiffeners), furthermore combines the characteristics of sandwich and cellular plate structures. The material of the structure is much more advantageous than traditional steel materials, due mainly to its low density, resulting in weight savings, causing lower fuel consumption and less environmental damage. In the study the optimal construction of a given geometry of a structural element of a road truck trailer body was defined by single- and multi-objective optimization (minimal cost and weight). During the single-objective optimization the Flexible Tolerance Optimization method, while during the multi-objective optimization the Particle Swarm Optimization method were used. Seven design constraints were considered: maximum deflection of the structure, buckling of the composite plates, buckling of the stiffeners, stress in the composite plates, stress in the stiffeners, eigenfrequency of the structure, size constraint for design variables. It was confirmed that the developed structure can be used principally as structural elements of transport vehicles and unit load devices (containers) and can be applied also in building construction.