Impact analysis of fiber reinforced polymer honeycomb composite sandwich beams

Large scale fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composite structures have been used in highway bridge and building construction. Recent applications have demonstrated that FRP honeycomb sandwich panels can be effectively and economically applied for both new construction and rehabilitation and replacement of existing structures. This paper is concerned with impact analysis of an as-manufactured FRP honeycomb sandwich system with sinusoidal core geometry in the plane and extending vertically between face laminates. The analyses of the honeycomb structure and components including: (1) constituent materials and ply properties, (2) face laminates and core wall engineering properties, and (3) equivalent core material properties, are first introduced, and these properties for the face laminates and equivalent core are later used in dynamic analysis of sandwich beams. A higher-order impact sandwich beam theory by the authors [Yang MJ, Qiao P. Higher-order impact modeling of sandwich beams with flexible core. Int J Solids Struct 2005;42(20):5460–90] is adopted to carry out the free vibration and impact analyses of the FRP honeycomb sandwich system, from which the full elastic field (e.g., deformation and stress) under impact is predicted. The higher order vibration analysis of the FRP sandwich beams is conducted, and its accuracy is validated with the finite element Eigenvalue analysis using ABAQUS; while the predicted impact responses (e.g., contact force and central deflection) are compared with the finite element simulations by LS-DYNA. A parametric study with respect to projectile mass and velocity is performed, and the similar prediction trends with the linear solution are observed. Furthermore, the predicted stress fields are compared with the available strength data to predict the impact damage in the FRP sandwich system. The present impact analysis demonstrates the accuracy and capability of the higher order impact sandwich beam theory, and it can be used effectively in analysis, design applications and optimization of efficient FRP honeycomb composite sandwich structures for impact protection and mitigation.     

Impact response of integrated hollow core sandwich composite panels

This paper deals with an innovative integrated hollow (space) E-glass/epoxy core sandwich composite construction that possesses several multi-functional benefits in addition to the providing lightweight and bending stiffness advantages. In comparison with traditional foam and honeycomb cores, the integrated space core provides a means to route wires/rods, embed electronic assemblies, and store fuel and fire-retardant foam, among other conceivable benefits. In the current work, the low-velocity impact (LVI) response of innovative integrated sandwich core composites was investigated. Three thicknesses of integrated and functionality-embedded E-glass/epoxy sandwich cores were considered in this study—including 6, 9 and 17 mm. The low-velocity impact results indicated that the hollow and functionality-embedded integrated core suffered a localized damage state limited to a system of core members in the vicinity of the impact. The peak forces attained under static compression and LVI were in accordance with Euler's column buckling equation. Stacking of the core was an effective way of improving functionality and limiting the LVI damage in the sandwich plate. The functionality-embedded cores provided enhanced LVI resistance due to energy additional energy absorption mechanisms.     

嵌锁式碳纤维/树脂基复合材料方形蜂窝夹芯结构的力学性能及损伤失效

设计并采用嵌锁组装工艺制备了碳纤维/树脂基复合材料方形蜂窝夹芯结构,开展了面外平压性能和三点弯曲性能试验研究,获得了夹芯结构在平压载荷作用下的破坏模式,分析了其损伤失效机制及吸能特性,讨论了在三点弯曲载荷作用下面板质量非对称性和槽口方向对夹芯梁的破坏模式及承载能力的影响.研究结果表明嵌锁式碳纤维/树脂基复合材料方形蜂窝...     

Modelling of composite sandwich structures with honeycomb core subjected to high-velocity impact

In this study the perforation of composite sandwich structures subjected to high-velocity impact was analysed. Sandwich panels with carbon/epoxy skins and an aluminium honeycomb core were modelled by a three-dimensional finite element model implemented in ABAQUS/Explicit. The model was validated with experimental tests by comparing numerical and experimental residual velocity, ballistic limit, and contact time. By this model the influence of the components on the behaviour of the sandwich panel under impact load was evaluated; also, the contribution of the failure mechanisms to the energy-absorption of the projectile kinetic energy was determined.     

复合材料蜂窝夹芯结构低速冲击位置识别研究

进行了碳纤维增强复合材料蜂窝夹芯结构的低速冲击实验,采用一种基于应力波和免疫遗传算法的冲击载荷定位方法对蜂窝夹芯结构上的低速冲击载荷进行分析和定位。首先,通过一组事先确定冲击位置的低速冲击载荷产生的冲击应力波实验数据,使用小波变换方法对其在时频域进行分析,获得多个频率上冲击应力波在蜂窝夹芯结构中的传播速度;然后在此基础上,考虑蜂窝夹芯结构中应力波的各向异性特性,采用免疫遗传算法对未知的低速冲击载荷进行位置识别。实验研究结果表明了该方法的可行性和有效性     

Vibration in a satellite structure with a laminate composite hybrid sandwich panel

The objective of this investigation is to study the complex vibration characteristics of an actual spacecraft structure using the FEA code in conjunction with experimental data. The body of a satellite consists of a monocoque structure formed by joining several composite sandwich panels composed of an aluminum honeycomb core with carbon fiber reinforced laminate skins on both sides.     

Torsion of carbon fiber composite pyramidal core sandwich plates

A combined theoretical, experimental and numerical investigation of carbon fiber composite pyramidal core sandwich plates subjected to torsion loading is conducted. Pyramidal core sandwich plates are made from carbon fiber composite material by a hot compression molding method. Based on the Classical Laminate Plate Theory and Shear Deformation Theory, the equivalent mechanical properties of laminated face-sheet are obtained; based on a homogenization concept combined with a mechanical of materials approach, the equivalent in-plane and out-of-plane shear moduli of pyramidal core are obtained. A torsion solution is derived with Prandtl stress function and can be used in the sandwich plate with orthotropic face-sheets and orthotropic core. The influences of material properties and geometrical parameters on the equivalent torsional stiffness are explored. In order to verify the accuracy of the analytical torsion solution, experimental tests of sandwich plate samples with different face-sheet thicknesses are conducted and two types of finite element models are developed. Good agreements among analytical predictions, finite element simulations and experimental evaluations are achieved, which prove the validity of the present derivation and simulation. The proposed method could also be applied in design applications and optimization of the pyramidal core sandwich structures.     

An analytical model for composite sandwich panels with honeycomb core subjected to high-velocity impact

In this paper, an analytical model for perforation of composite sandwich panels with honeycomb core subjected to high-velocity impact has been developed. The sandwich panel consists of a aluminium honeycomb core sandwiched between two thin composite skins. The solution involves a three-stage, perforation process including perforation of the front composite skin, honeycomb core, and bottom composite skin. The strain and kinetic energy of the front and back-up composite skins and the absorbed energy of honeycomb core has been estimated. In addition, based on the energy balance and equation of motion the absorbed energy of sandwich panel, residual velocity of projectile, perforation time and projectile velocity have been obtained and compared with the available experimental tests and numerical model. Furthermore, effects of composite skins and aluminium honeycomb core on perforation resistance and ballistic performance of sandwich panels has been investigated.     

薄面板复合材料蜂窝夹层结构冲击试验

为研究薄面板复合材料蜂窝夹层结构在冲击载荷下的接触力响应和损伤情况,用两种不同质量的冲头对不同面板厚度的复合材料夹层结构进行了多种能量的落锤式冲击试验,并对冲击后的试验件进行了损伤测量。结果表明：冲击能量相对较低时,最大接触力较小,随着冲击能量的增加,最大接触力在增大过程中会出现门槛值,即达到某一值后不再上升。低能量下,冲击损伤表现为面板凹坑和冲击点周围的少量分层,随着冲击能量变大,面板逐渐出现纤维断裂进而被穿透。面板未穿透时,冲头会反弹,接触力-时间曲线的下降段没有台阶,分层区域直径约为冲头直径的1.2倍;面板穿透时,冲头不反弹,接触力-时间曲线下降段出现台阶,分层区域直径约为冲头直径的1.8倍。当最大接触力达到门槛值后,相同冲击能量下,冲头质量越大,冲击持续时间越长,凹坑越深。     

Impact response of three-dimensional stitched sandwich composite

The paper aims at evaluating the damage resistance of sandwich structures composed of stitched foam core and glass facesheets subjected to low-velocity impact. To obtain a suitable baseline comparison, the equivalent set of properties was measured for an equivalent unstitched sandwich.Based on the force and energy histories, parameters have been introduced as following: load at incipient damage, maximum load, penetration depth at maximum load, total energy absorbed during impact and impact damage area. The impact resistance of the sandwich structure is greatly improved by the presence of the stitches. Skin/core delamination is limited and initial energy is used to degrade core’s stitches. Moreover the global behavior under impact is influenced by the stitching geometrical parameters.     

Impact response of sandwich plates with a pyramidal lattice core

The ballistic performance edge clamped 304 stainless-steel sandwich panels has been measured by impacting the plates at mid-span with a spherical steel projectile whose impact velocity ranged from 250 to 1300 m s⁻¹. The sandwich plates comprised two identical face sheets and a pyramidal truss core: the diameter of the impacting spherical projectile was approximately half the 25 mm truss core cell size. The ballistic behavior has been compared with monolithic 304 stainless-steel plates of approximately equal areal mass and with high-strength aluminum alloy (6061-T6) sandwich panels of identical geometry. The ballistic performance is quantified in terms of the entry and exit projectile velocities while high-speed photography is used to investigate the dynamic deformation and failure mechanisms. The stainless-steel sandwich panels were found to have a much higher ballistic resistance than the 6061-T6 aluminum alloy panels on a per volume basis but the ballistic energy absorption of the aluminum structures was slightly higher on a per unit mass basis. The ballistic performance of the monolithic and sandwich panels is almost identical though the failure mechanics of these two types of structures are rather different. At high impact velocities, the monolithic plates fail by ductile hole enlargement. By contrast, only the proximal face sheet of the sandwich plate undergoes this type of failure. The distal face sheet fails by a petalling mode over the entire velocity range investigated here. Given the substantially higher blast resistance of sandwich plates compared to monolithic plates of equal mass, we conclude that sandwich plates display a potential to outperform monolithic plates in multi-functional applications that combine blast resistance and ballistic performance.     

Free vibration response of composite sandwich cylindrical shell with flexible core

This study deals with the free vibration analysis of composite sandwich cylindrical shell with a flexible core using a higher order sandwich panel theory. The formulation uses the classical shell theory for the face sheets and an elasticity theory for the core and includes derivation of the governing equations along with the appropriate boundary conditions. The model consists of a systematic approach for the analysis of sandwich shells with a flexible core, having high-order effects caused by the nonlinearity of the in-plane and the vertical displacements of the core. The behavior is presented in terms of internal resultants and displacements in the faces, peeling and shear stresses in the face–core interface and stress and displacement field in the core. The accuracy of the solution is examined by comparing the results obtained with the analytical and numerical results published in the literatures. The parametric study is also included to investigate the effect of geometrical properties such as radius of curvature, length and sector angle of the shell.     

蜂窝夹层复合材料不确定性参数识别方法

提出蜂窝夹层复合材料不确定性参数识别方法。采用三明治夹芯板理论建立铝蜂窝夹层结构的初始有限元模型,其中芯层等效弹性参数由均匀化方法计算。据芯层结构及相对灵敏度分析选存在不确定性且对动态特性敏感性较大的面外剪切模量及面板厚度为待识别参数。对6块铝蜂窝复合材料板进行自由-自由边界条件下动态试验,获得试验模态参数的均值及标准差。据试验结果采用所提方法识别铝蜂窝夹层板不确定性参数。结果表明,对存在不确定性参数的铝蜂窝夹层复合材料用该方法能准确识别铝蜂窝夹层板不确定参数的均值及标准差。并建立具有准确统计意义的动力学模型。     

Mechanical behaviors of carbon fiber composite sandwich columns with three dimensional honeycomb cores under in-plane compression

Mechanical properties and failure modes of carbon fiber composite egg and pyramidal honeycombs cores under in plane compression were studied in the present paper. An interlocking method was developed for both kinds of three-dimensional honeycombs. Euler or core shear macro-buckling, face wrinkling, face inter-cell buckling, core member crushing and face sheet crushing were considered and theoretical relationships for predicting the failure load associated with each mode were presented. Failure mechanism maps were constructed to predict the failure of these composite sandwich panels subjected to in-plane compression. The response of the sandwich panels under axial compression was measured up to failure. The measured peak loads obtained in the experiments showed a good agreement with the analytical predictions. The finite element method was used to investigate the Euler buckling of sandwich beams made with two different honeycomb cores and the comparisons between two kinds of honeycomb cores were conducted.     

The low velocity impact response of an aluminium honeycomb sandwich structure

The low velocity impact response of two aluminium honeycomb sandwich structures has been investigated by conducting drop-weight impact tests using an instrumented falling-weight impact tower. Initially, the rate-sensitivity of the glass fibre reinforced/epoxy skins and aluminium core was investigated through a series of flexure, shear and indentation tests. Here, it was found that the flexural modulus of the composite skins and the shear modulus of the aluminium honeycomb core did not exhibit any strain-rate sensitivity over the conditions investigated here. In addition, it was found that the indentation characteristics of this lightweight sandwich structure can be analysed using a Meyer indentation law, the parameters of which did not exhibit any sensitivity to crosshead displacement rate.

The impact response of the aluminium honeycomb sandwich structures was modelled using a simple energy-balance model which accounts for energy absorption in bending, shear and contact effects. Agreement between the energy-balance model and the experimental data was found to be good, particularly at low energies where damage was localised to the core material immediate to the point of impact. The energy balance was also used to identify energy partitioning during the impact event. Here, it was shown that the partition of the incident energy depends strongly on the geometry of the impacting projectile.     

Syntactic foam core metal matrix sandwich composite under bending conditions

The present work aims at characterizing a metal matrix syntactic foam core sandwich composite under three-point bending conditions. The sandwich comprises alumina hollow particle reinforced A356 alloy syntactic foam with carbon fabric skins. Crack initiation in the tensile side of the specimen causing failure of the skin, followed by rapid failure of the core in the direction applied load, is observed as the failure mechanism. Crack propagation through the alumina particles is observed in the failed specimens instead of interfacial failure. The average maximum strength, flexural strain and stiffness were measured as 91.2 ± 5.6 MPa, 0.49 ± 0.06% and 20.6 ± 0.7 GPa respectively. The collapse load is theoretically predicted using mechanics of sandwich beams. Experimental values show good agreement with theoretical predictions.     

Kevlar纤维缝纫泡沫芯材复合材料力学性能研究

基于热压罐成型工艺,制备了kevlar纤维缝纫泡沫芯材复合材料夹层板,并通过扫描电镜观察了胶膜中的树脂在kevlar纤维束之间的浸润状态,为工程化应用提供参考.选取未缝纫泡沫夹芯复合材料和碳纤维预浸料缝线缝纫泡沫芯材复合材料夹层板为对比试样,实验研究了kevlar纤维缝纫泡沫芯材复合材料夹层板的平压、剪切和侧压力学性能,并考察了缝纫针距、行距的变化对其力学性能和破坏模式的影响.研究表明:在真空压力下,胶膜中的树脂与kevlar纤维浸润良好;对泡沫芯材进行kevlar纤维缝纫增强后,其力学性能显著提高,并改变了夹层板的破坏机理.实验范围内,随着缝纫密度的提高,平压强度和模量增大;夹层板剪切性能和侧压性能受缝纫密度的影响较大,在缝纫参数(缝纫行距×针距)为10 mm×10 mm时,增强效果较佳,其剪切强度和侧压强度分别提高了44%和21%,剪切模量和侧压模量分别提高了34%和127%.     

基于多尺度方法的蜂窝夹层复合材料结构轴向压缩稳定性

为有效预测蜂窝夹层复合材料结构压缩失稳载荷和破坏模式,本文基于层压板宏细观多尺度数值分析模型,研究蜂窝夹层复合材料结构在轴向压缩载荷下的屈曲稳定性。基于改进的通用单胞理论模型,并结合ABAQUS用户自定义子程序接口,建立蜂窝夹层复合材料结构宏细观数值模型,预报蜂窝夹层复合材料结构失效载荷和破坏模式,并与试验结果对照,验证了模型的有效性。结果表明:通过本文建立的数值模型可以有效预测蜂窝夹层复合材料结构在压缩载荷下的失稳载荷和破坏模式,其一阶失稳载荷为128.12 kN,与试验结果误差为4.58%,蜂窝夹层复合材料结构破坏模式为先发生屈曲失稳,然后迅速破坏。      

含纤维波纹缺陷复合材料层合板的损伤分析

纤维波纹是复合材料层合板制备过程中的一种常见缺陷,会导致其刚度和强度显著下降,有效地预测含波纹缺陷复合材料层合板的失效强度具有显著的意义。基于此,本文采用解析的方式分别构造了纤维波纹呈正弦起伏与余弦起伏状的复合材料层合板模型。利用该模型,以Tsai-Wu准则作为失效判据,研究了一种含纤维波纹的碳纤维/环氧树脂复合材料层合板在受压情况下的损伤演化过程,得到了碳纤维/环氧树脂复合材料层合板的初始损伤强度。与有限元方法计算得到的损伤位置和损伤强度非常吻合,验证了本文算法的正确性。另外,相比于有限元方法,本文所述计算方法具有模型构造简单、计算效率高等优点,便于快速分析和确定含纤维波纹缺陷复合材料层合板的损伤位置与损伤强度。