A simple analytical solution for buckling of metallic sandwich shells

Analytical equation for critical buckling stress of metallic sandwich shell is derived based on well-known Nemeth’s analytical solution for buckling stress of composite monocoque cylindrical shell incorporating the bending rigidity for the sandwich construction. A good agreement for the predicted critical buckling load with finite element analysis result for different geometric parameters is achieved for a rigid core sandwich. Once critical buckling stress of a monocoque shell is obtained based on Nemeth’s solution, then for the sandwich shell the buckling stress can be predicted following a factor of 0.9 (hc / tf).