The main stages qf development of the stabili~, them T of sandwich structural elements are considered. The mechanism of their stability loss is revealed ushTg the r data and theoretical solutions obtahTed on the basis of refined statements of problems. A classification of all possible forms of stability loss is given within the limits of conthmum representation of load-bearing lavers and the core of these sDTtctio'es.
Basic Stages of DevelopmentImproved efficiency of the constructions of modem technology and different structures is closely connected with the search for and realization of new engineering designs in creating their separate elements. One line of the quest is creation and ever-increasing implementation of sandwich structural elements in the form of plates and shells consisting of two external layers and a connecting midlayer of a filler made of a nonrigid light material. The scientific literature dedicated to the development ofthe theory and methods ofcalculation ofstructural elements is quite voluminous. Complete information on these studies, an analysis of the current status of the mechanics of sandwich structures, and some trends of further investigations were presented in the review [ I ].An advantage of sandwich structural elements is that, with their minimum weight, the critical loads can be significantly increased. In this connection, development of the stability theory is one of the principal trends of scientific investigations in the field of mechanics.The first fundamental results in the theory of sandwich structures were apparently obtained by E. Reissner [2] and some other authors mentioned in [ 1 ]. His model is the simplest of the refined models known in the scientific literature. It is based on the linear approximation of tangential displacements and the assumption of a constant deflection over the thickness of the filler, where the tangential stress components are regarded to be zero, and the external load-carrying layers are considered momentless. The use of this model for investigating the stability of sandwich plates and shells made it possible to study the effect of transverse displacements of the filler on the critical loads, which proved to be quite considerable for actual structural elements.Further development of the above model consisted in considering the work of moments in load-carrying layers within the framework of the classical KirchhoffmLove hypotheses for the same approximations of displacements in the filler as those described in [2]. Based on such a model, refined variants ofthe theory for shallow sandwich shells with and without account of tangential stress components in the filler were constructed by E. I. Grigolyuk [3,4]. All subsequent numerous investigations were, in one way or another, associated with generalizations of this model (named the broken line-type model) to nonshaUow shells, with different representation variants of the initial equations and their reduction to a smaller number of equations, as well as the solution of a larger number of particular pro...