Nonlinear thermo-structural behavior of sandwich panels with truss cores under through-thickness gradient temperature field

A theoretical analysis is presented to predict the nonlinear thermo-structural response of metallicsandwich panels with truss cores under through-thickness gradient temperature field, which is acommon service condition for metallic thermal protection system （TPS）. The in-planetemperature distribution is assumed to be uniform, and through-thickness temperature field isdetermined by heat conduction. Two typical conditions are analyzed： nonlinear thermal bendingin fixed inside surface temperature, and thermal post-buckling in fixed temperature differencebetween two surfaces. Temperature-dependent mechanical properties are considered, andgradient shear stiffness and bending stiffness due to non-uniform temperature is included. Resultsindicate that the temperature-dependent material properties obviously affect bending resistance;however, the effect is negligible on post-buckling behavior. Influences of geometric parameters onthe thermo-structural behavior of the sandwich panel according to the present theoretical modelare discussed.