End compression failure of honeycomb sandwich panels containing interfacial debonding

Based on the Tsai-Hill failure criterion and the cohesive zone model, a computational model was proposed to predict a typical damaged mode for honeycomb sandwich panels containing interfacial debonding under end compressive loading. The proposed model was built up based on a new failure mode, which is observed in the double cantilever beam (DCB) and the single leg bending (SLB) tests for honeycomb sandwich panels. The prediction results show that the end compressive failure occurs according to the following procedure: starting with local buckling of the debonding facesheet, followed by the initiation of interlaminar delamination between 45° ply and 0° ply, and meanwhile, the fracture of 45° ply, then the rapid propagation of interlaminar delamination between 45° ply and 0° ply, and finally, ending in the symmetrical global buckling of facesheets. Compared with the results of the end compressive test, the new failure mode predicted in the simulation is validated well in the experiment.