Analysis of uncertainty effects in sandwich structures with disordered cores - probabilistic homogenization of core material

Solid foams are common core materials in sandwich construction, combining a rather low specific weight with a reasonable strength and stiffness. Further benefits of solid foams are their in many cases advantageous thermal and acoustic insulation properties as well as their vibration damping and their impact energy absorption capa-bilities. Compared to honeycomb materials and other two-dimensional cellular structures, they have the advantage that they can easily be processed to any desired shape. On the other hand, solid foams suffer from a disordered irregular microstructure. On the macroscopic level of structural hierarchy, the microstructural dis-order leads to a substantial scatter and uncertainty in the effective material response of this class of materials.