Innovative Stainless Steel Applications in transport ... - Euro Inox

New challenges have to be met in both the design and manufacture of sandwich panels,
compared to conventional steel structures. Other than bending loads – for which the
panels are most suitable – shear and point loading, which decrease the local strength of
panels welded from thin sheet materials, must also be taken into account. Further
theoretical strength challenges are introduced by joining and connecting the panels to
each other and to structures.
New factors also have to be considered in panel manufacture. Manufacturing the core to
tolerances sufficient to allow flatness in welded panels is a key prerequisite for panel
applications. For this, joining methods other than arc welding, such as laser or resistance
welding, adhesive bonding or mechanical joining, have to be used. These bring new
possibilities but also introduce challenges and limitations to the design, manufacture,
use and maintenance of panels (Kujala et al. 2003).
3.2.1 Design principles of sandwich panels
The structural design of all-steel sandwich panels can be divided into two parts:
calculation of the elastic response of the structure and consideration of strength criteria.
Figure 51 shows a chart of the design process according to Romanoff & Kujala (2002).
Figure 51. A schematic of the all-steel sandwich panel design process (Romanoff & Kujala
2002 p. 20).
The design of all-steel panels starts with defining panel geometry, loads, boundary
conditions and strength criteria. Both main dimensions and core geometry are included
in defining panel geometry. Main dimensions are generally length, width and thickness.
Core geometry includes surface and core sheet thickness, core angles, etc. There are
several measurements to describe core geometry, depending on the chosen core type.
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