Abstract: A new type of aluminium-framed composite sandwich slab was designed to meet the high load-bearing capacity requirements of plateau-type dismantled storage devices. Experimental, theoretical and finite element methods were used to study the mechanical behavior of the aluminium frame composite sandwich slab. The counterweight was used to simulate the response of the aluminium-framed composite sandwich slab under the wind load,and the mid-span deflection value of the aluminium-framed composite sandwich slab was 4.74 mm under the maximum primary load (2.46 kN/m²), which was 85.87% of the deflection limit of 5.52 mm(l/400)in the normal service limit range. The mid-span deflection formula was derived of the aluminium frame composite sandwich slad by the classical theory of composite sandwich structure, and the theoretical calculated value was slightly larger than the experimental value, with a maximum error of 9.90%, which matched well in general. The 3D model of aluminium-framed composite sandwich slab was established by ANSYS/Multiphysics software and the finite element analysis was carried out to simulate the response of aluminium frame composite sandwich slab under the wind load. The finite element simulation result is slightly smaller than the experimental result, the results of finite element analysis are in good agreement with the experimental data. The 3D model of the composite sandwich panel was used for finite element parametric analysis, with aluminium frame, lattice webs and increased panel thickness, which was found that the mid-span deflection was reduced by 57.43%, 78.05% and 30.16% under the maximum primary loading.

Key words: demountable storage devices, aluminium-framed composite sandwich slab, bending test, numerical simulation, theoretical analysis