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Lightweight metallic sandwich plates comprising periodic truss cores and solid facesheets are optimally designed against minimum weights. Constitutive models of the truss core are developed using homogenization techniques which, together with effective single-layer sandwich approaches, form the basis of a two-dimensional (2D) single-layer sandwich model. The 2D model is employed to simulate the mechanical behaviors of truss-cored sandwich panels having a variety of core topologies. The types of loading considered include bending, transverse shear and in-plane compression. The validities of the 2D model predictions are checked against direct FE simulations on three-dimensional (3D) truss core sandwich structures. Optimizations using the 2D sandwich model are subsequently performed to determine the minimum weights of trusscored sandwiches subjected to various failure constraints: overall and local buckling, yielding and facesheet wrinkling. The performances of the optimized truss core sandwiches with 4-rod unit cell and solid truss members and pyramidal unit cell with hollow truss members are compared with benchmark lightweight structures such as honeycomb-cored sandwiches, tetrahedral core sandwiches and hat-stiffened single layer plates.

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a b s t r a c tAnalytical predictions are presented for the plastic collapse strength of lightweight sandwich beams having pin-reinforced foam cores that are loaded in 3-point bending. Both polymer and aluminum foam cores are considered, whilst the facesheet and the pins are made of either composite or metal. Four different failure modes are account for: metal facesheet yield or composite facesheet microbuckling, facesheet wrinkling, plastic shear of the core, and facesheet indentation beneath the loading rollers. A micromechanics-based model is developed and combined with the homogenization approach to calculate the effective properties of pin-reinforced foam cores. To calculate the elastic buckling strength of pin reinforcements, the pin-reinforced foam core is treated as assemblies of simply supported columns resting upon an elastic foundation. Minimum mass design of the sandwich is then obtained as a function of the prescribed structural load index, subjected to the constraint that none of the above failure modes occurs. Collapse mechanism maps are constructed and compared with the failure maps of foam-cored sandwich beams without pin reinforcements. Finite element simulations are carried out to verify the analytical model and to study the performance and failure mechanisms of the sandwich subject to loading types other than 3-point bending. The results demonstrate that the weaker the foam is, the more optimal the pin-reinforced foam core becomes, and that sandwich beams with pin-reinforced polymer foam cores are structurally more efficient than foam-or trusscored sandwich beams.

Sandwich beams comprising identical face sheets and a square honeycomb core were manufactured from carbon fiber composite sheets. Analytical expressions were derived for four competing collapse mechanisms of simply supported and clamped sandwich beams in three-point bending: core shear, face microbuckling, face wrinkling, and indentation. Selected geometries of .sandwich beams were tested to illustrate these collapse modes, with good agreement between analytic predictions and measurements of the failure load. Finite element (FE) simulations of the three-point bending responses of these beams were also conducted by constructing a FE model by laying up unidirectional plies in appropriate orientations. The initiation and growth of damage in the laminates were included in the FE calculations. With this embellishment, the FE model was able to predict the measured load versus displacement response and the failure sequence in each of the composite beams.

Organic‐metal lead halide perovskite solar cells (PSCs) featuring low‐cost and high efficiency have been recognized as promising photovoltaic devices, but their serious charge recombination and ultraviolet light irradiation instability limit their output efficiency and long‐term operation. In this work, we have introduced silicon oxide as an interfacial modifier of the electron transporting layer in TiO2‐based planar heterojunction PSCs. The incorporation of a silicon oxide modifier passivates the trap states of perovskite absorber and suppresses the charge recombination of PSCs. As a consequence, a competitive solar‐to‐electricity conversion efficiency of 18.0 % was achieved for the device fabricated with the silicon‐oxide‐modified TiO2 electron extraction layer, which is increased by 15 % compared with the PSC fabricated with pristine TiO2; this can be attributed to the significantly increased open‐circuit voltage and photocurrent density. Furthermore, the ultraviolet light irradiation stability of PSCs is greatly improved, resulting from the low photocatalytic activity of the silicon‐oxide‐modified TiO2 electron transporting layer, as revealed by the photoelectrochemical oxidation of CH3NH2. This work represents a feasible step through interfacial engineering toward the realization of ultraviolet‐light‐stable and scalable PSCs.