Material Minds HELP: Stacking Sequence Definition for a Sandwich
In the SWR data entry pages, the stacking sequences relate to physical positions of layers
as shown in the following figure. Layer 1 will be the first layer defined in the stacking sequence.
Facesheets are always defined starting from the outermost layer. The pages assume
that face 2 is a symmetric repeat of face 1 if the user does not explicitly enter a stacking
sequence for face 2.
Technical Note
The analysis treats the sandwich as a single laminate, with the core material acting as an
additional layer. As such, the code builds a total stack starting from layer 1 of face 1, and ending
at the most positive z location, layer 1 of face 2 (the face 2 stack gets reversed in the total
laminate defintion). This approach allows (and requires) the core to have non-zero inplane properties
that contribute to the bending and extensional stiffness of the sandwich.