Large inelastic response of unbonded metallic foam and honeycomb core sandwich panels to blast loading

Sandwich panels constructed from metallic face sheets with the core composed of an energy absorbing material, have shown potential as an effective blast resistant structure. In the present study, air-blast tests are conducted on sandwich panels composed steel face sheets with unbonded aluminium foam (Alporas, Cymat) or hexagonal honeycomb cores. Honeycomb cores with small and large aspect ratios are investigated. For all core materials, tests are conducted using two different face sheet thicknesses. The results show that face sheet thickness has a significant effect on the performance of the panels relative to an equivalent monolithic plate. The Alporas and honeycomb cores are found to give higher relative performance with a thicker face sheet. Under the majority of the loading conditions investigated, the thick core honeycomb panels show the greatest increase in blast resistance of the core materials. The Cymat core panels do not show any significant increase in performance over monolithic plates.     

Failure mode maps for composite sandwich panels subjected to air blast loading

Failure mode maps for sandwich panels with composite face sheets are presented. These failure mode maps can provide useful insights on how panel failure depends on the key variables in the problem. To include dynamic effects in the problem the sandwich panel was modeled as a single-degree-of-freedom mass–spring system. This allows one to simulate the effect of blast loading on the panels. A comparison with some quasi-static test results was performed and it was found that the experimental data were consistent with the analysis.     

Deformation and failure of blast-loaded metallic sandwich panels—Experimental investigations

Metallic sandwich panels with a cellular core such as honeycomb have the capability of dissipating considerable energy by large plastic deformation under impact/blast loading. To investigate the structural response of sandwich panels loaded by blasts, a large number of experiments have been conducted, and the experimental results are reported and discussed in this paper. Quantitative results were obtained based on the measurement in the tests by a ballistic pendulum with corresponding sensors, and then the deformation/failure modes of specimen were classified and analysed systematically. The experimental programme was designed to investigate the effects on the structural response of face-sheet and core configurations, i.e. face-sheet thickness, cell size and foil thickness of the honeycomb, and mass of charge. The experimental data were then compared with the predicted data from finite element simulations, and the results show a good agreement between the experimental and computational studies.     

Behaviour of sandwich panels subjected to intense air blast – Part 1: Experiments

Tests that investigate the inelastic response of blast-loaded sandwich structures, comprising mild steel plates and aluminium alloy honeycomb cores, are reported. The “uniform” loading was generated by detonating a disc of explosive and directing the blast through a tube towards the target. Localised blast loading was generated by detonating discs of explosive in very close proximity to the test structure. The sandwich panels responded in a more efficient manner to the uniformly distributed loading, and hence the majority of the paper is concentrated on uniform loading response. The honeycomb sandwich results are compared to test results on structures with air as the core. The failure modes and interaction between the components are discussed. Three phases of interaction are identified for each sandwich structure, based upon deformation, contact, crushing and tearing responses of the sandwich components. The compromise between load transfer through the core and improved energy absorption is discussed.     

The influence of core height and face plate thickness on the response of honeycomb sandwich panels subjected to blast loading

This paper reports on an investigation into the behaviour of circular sandwich panels with aluminium honeycomb cores subjected to air blast loading. Explosive tests were performed on sandwich panels consisting of mild steel face plates and aluminium honeycomb cores. The loading was generated by detonating plastic explosives at a pre-determined stand-off distance. Core height and face plate thickness were varied and the results are compared with previous experiments. It was observed that the panels exhibited permanent face plate deflection and tearing, and the honeycomb core exhibited crushing and densification. It was found that increasing the core thickness delayed the onset of core densification and decreased back plate deflection. Increasing the plate thickness was also found to decrease back plate deflection, although the panels then had a substantially higher overall mass.     

Wet-sand impulse loading of metallic plates and corrugated core sandwich panels

We have utilized a combination of experimental and modeling methods to investigate the mechanical response of edge-clamped sandwich panels subject to the impact of explosively driven wet sand. A porthole extrusion process followed by friction stir welding was utilized to fabricate 6061-T6 aluminum sandwich panels with corrugated cores. The panels were edge clamped and subjected to localized high intensity dynamic loading by the detonation of spherical explosive charges encased by a concentric shell of wet sand placed at different standoff distances. Monolithic plates of the same alloy and mass per unit area were also tested in an identical manner and found to suffer 15-20% larger permanent deflections. A decoupled wet sand loading model was developed and incorporated into a parallel finite-element simulation capability. The loading model was calibrated to one of the experiments. The model predictions for the remaining tests were found to be in close agreement with experimental observations for both sandwich panels and monolithic plates. The simulation tool was then utilized to explore sandwich panel designs with improved performance. It was found that the performance of the sandwich panel to wet sand blast loading can be varied by redistributing the mass among the core webs and the face sheets. Sandwich panel designs that suffer 30% smaller deflections than equivalent solid plates have been identified.     

Response of flexible sandwich-type panels to blast loading

This paper reports on experimental and numerical investigations into the response of flexible sandwich-type panels when subjected to blast loading. The response of sandwich-type panels with steel plates and polystyrene cores are compared to panels with steel face plates and aluminium honeycomb cores. Panels are loaded by detonating plastic explosive discs in close proximity to the front face of the panel. The numerical model is used to explain the stress attenuation and enhancement of the panels with different cores when subjected to blast induced dynamic loading. The permanent deflection of the back plate is determined by the velocity attenuation properties (and hence the transmitted stress pulse) of the core. Core efficiency in terms of energy absorption is an important factor for thicker cores. For panels of comparable mass, those with aluminium honeycomb cores perform “better” than those with polystyrene cores.     

Modelling the response of reinforced concrete panels under blast loading

A finite element model is developed for the simulation of the structural response of steel-reinforced concrete panels to blast loading using LS-DYNA. The effect of element size on the dynamic material model of concrete is investigated and strain-rate effects on concrete in tension and compression are accounted for separately in the model. The model is validated by comparing the computed results with experimental data from the literature. In addition, a parametric study is carried out to investigate the effects of charge weight, standoff distance, panel thickness and reinforcement ratio on the blast resistance of reinforced concrete panels.     

Some theoretical considerations on the dynamic response of sandwich structures under impulsive loading

A theoretical solution is obtained to predict the dynamic response of peripherally clamped square metallic sandwich panels with either honeycomb core or aluminium foam core under blast loading. In the theoretical analysis, the deformation of sandwich structures is separated into three phases, corresponding to the transfer of impulse to the front face velocity, core crushing and overall structural bending/stretching, respectively. The cellular core is assumed to have a progressive crushing deformation mode in the out-of-plane direction, with a dynamically enhanced plateau stress (for honeycombs). The in-plane strength of the cellular core is assumed unaffected by the out-of-plane compression. By adopting an energy dissipation rate balance approach developed by earlier researchers for monolithic square plates, but incorporating a newly developed yield condition for the sandwich panels in terms of bending moment and membrane force, “upper” and “lower” bounds are obtained for the maximum permanent deflections and response time. Finally, comparative studies are carried out to investigate: (1) influence of the change in the in-plane strength of the core after the out-of-plane compression; (2) performances of a square monolith panel and a square sandwich panel with the same mass per unit area; and (3) analytical models of sandwich beams and circular and square sandwich plates.     

Performance of functionally graded sandwich composite beams under shock wave loading

The dynamic behavior of sandwich composites made of E-Glass Vinyl-Ester (EVE) facesheets and graded Corecell™ A-series foam was studied using a shock tube apparatus. The foam core was monotonically graded based on increasing acoustic wave impedance, with the foam core layer of lowest wave impedance facing the blast. The specimen dimensions were held constant for all core configurations, while the number of core layers varied, resulting in specimens with one layer, two layer, three layer, and four layers of foam core gradation. Prior to shock tube testing, the quasi-static and dynamic constitutive behavior (compressive) of each type of foam was evaluated. During the shock tube testing, high-speed photography coupled with the optical technique of Digital Image Correlation (DIC) was utilized to capture the real-time deformation process as well as mechanisms of failure. Post-mortem analysis was also carried out to evaluate the overall blast performance of these configurations. The results indicated that increasing the number of monotonically graded foam core layers, thus reducing the acoustic wave impedance mismatch between successive layers, helped maintain structural integrity and increased the blast performance of the sandwich composite.     

Behaviour of sandwich panels subject to intense air blasts – Part 2: Numerical simulation

Finite element simulation is employed to analyse the behaviour of clamped sandwich panels comprising equal thicknesses mild steel plates sandwiching an aluminium honeycomb core when subject to blast loadings. Pressure-time histories representative of blast loadings are applied to the front plate of the sandwich panel. The FE model is verified using the experimental test results for uniform and localised blast loading in the presence of a honeycomb core and with only an air gap between the sandwich plates. It is observed that for the particular core material, the load transfer to the back plate of the panel depends on the load intensity, core thickness and flexibility of the sandwich panels.     

Equivalent single-layer theory for a complete stress field in sandwich panels under arbitrarily distributed loading

In single-layer theory, the displacement components represent the weighted-average through the thickness of the sandwich panel. Although discrete-layer theories are more representative of sandwich construction than the single-layer theories, they suffer from an excessive number of field variables in proportion to the number of layers. In this study, utilizing Reissner’s definitions for kinematics of thick plates, the displacement components at any point on the plate are approximated in terms of weighted-average quantities (displacements and rotations) that are functions of the in-plane coordinates. The equations of equilibrium and boundary conditions of the sandwich panel are derived by employing the principle of virtual displacements. The solution for an arbitrarily distributed load is obtained by employing Fourier series representations of the unknown field variables. This single-layer theory is validated against an analytical solution for simply supported square sandwich panels under pressure over a small region on the face sheet and is also compared with previous single-layer plate theories.     

Numerical investigation of the response of sandwich-type panels using thin-walled tubes subject to blast loads

The response of a novel lightweight panel design under blast loading is numerically investigated. The sandwich-type panel uses thin-walled square tubes as the core material with mild steel outer plates. A parametric study is carried out with ABAQUS/Explicit to examine the effects and interaction between design variables in three different tube layouts. Tube position, thickness and aspect ratio as well as top plate thickness are varied. Buckling stability and absorption performance are shown to be highly sensitive to tube placement due to interaction effects between the top plate and tubes. For each panel an optimal tube positioning is obtained corresponding to nearly perfect axial progressive symmetric tube buckling. Tube thickness is shown to influence the onset of buckling and hence affects the stability of the core, while energy absorption performance is also highly configurable. Tube aspect ratio shows only a small effect on core buckling stability and energy absorption. Top plate thickness influences absorber performance significantly while having a small effect on buckling stability. A simple theoretical analysis is presented and shows reasonable agreement with the numerical simulations.     

Core compression in sandwich beams under contact loading

Failure of the core in sandwich structures under concentrated loading is of potential concern, and it is difficult to compute the core compressive stress by simple means. Contact loading adds additional complexity, as surface displacements are imposed and the contact zone size and pressure distribution is initially unknown. However contact loading is important as it is widely used in three or four point bend tests to determine failure properties, and is also typically involved in impact loading. The calculation of core compressive stress was addressed in the present work by utilizing an elasticity solution due to Pagano and Srinivas and Rao for transverse loading of layered orthotropic materials. Contact pressure distributions were obtained by systematically varying pressures and comparing the computed surface displacements with the indentor profile. The results show that the pressure distribution for an orthotropic half-space is applicable to sandwich beams over a wide range of variables. A beam-on-elastic-foundation model was found to be useful in correlating the analysis results for core compressive stress.     

Finite element analysis of sandwich panels with stepwise graded aluminum honeycomb cores under blast loading

This paper presents details and brief results of an experimental investigation on the response of metallic sandwich panels with stepwise graded aluminum honeycomb cores under blast loading. Based on the experiments, corresponding finite element simulations have been undertaken using the LS-DYNA software. It is observed that the core compression stage was coupled with the fluid–structure interaction stage, and the compression of the core layer decreased from the central to the peripheral zone. The blast resistance capability of sandwich panels was moderately sensitive to the core relative density and graded distribution. For the graded panels with relative density descending core arrangement, the core plastic energy dissipation and the transmitted force attenuation were larger than that of the ungraded ones under the same loading condition. The graded sandwich panels, especially for relative density descending core arrangement, would display a better blast resistance than the ungraded ones at a specific loading region.     

The effect of core thickness on the flexural behaviour of aluminium foam sandwich structures

The effect of core thickness on the deformation mechanism of an aluminium foam core/thermoplastic composite facing sandwich structure under 4-point bending was investigated. Full field strain analysis and visual observations show a number of failure mechanisms between the different core thicknesses. High strain concentrations were observed in each sample thickness corresponding to the particular region of failure. The thinner samples exhibited skin wrinkling and fracture, and some core cracking and crushing while the thicker samples failed due to core indentation. Increasing the skin thickness eliminated the incidence of core indentation. Instead, significant core shear cracking was observed.     

Experimental study on hybrid CFRP-PU strengthening effect on RC panels under blast loading

Recently, fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) usages for strengthening RC infrastructures have been continuously increasing. Especially, the use of FRPs to strengthen structures against a blast terror or an impact accident is receiving great interests from specialists in the structural retrofitting and strengthening field. In order to achieve better protections from blast or impact loading, a new retrofit composite material has been proposed by combining highly stiff and strong material of carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) with highly ductile material of Polyurea (PU). The combination of CFRP and PU can result in a retrofit composite with enhanced stiffness and ductility properties as well as fragment catching characteristic. To estimate the hybrid composite’s blast resistant capacity, nine 1000 × 1000 × 150 mm RC panel specimens retrofitted with either CFRP, PU, or hybrid composite sheets were blast tested. The blast load was generated by detonating a 15.88 kg ANFO explosive charge at 1.5 m standoff distance. The data of free field incident and reflected blast pressures, maximum and residual displacements, and steel and concrete strains, etc. are measured from the test. Also, the failure mode and crack patterns were evaluated to determine the failure characteristic of the panels. The results from the experiments showed that the hybrid composite has better blast resistant capacity than ordinary retrofit FRPs. The study results are discussed in detail in the paper. The test results will not only provide blast resistant capacity of each retrofit material, but they will be valuable backup data for preliminary estimation of RC structural members’ blast protection performances.