Low velocity impact response of lightweight metal sandwich panel with corrugated core

Abstract

Low velocity impact resistance of a lightweight metal sandwich panel with a corrugated core struck by a heavy mass is investigated. Face sheets and the corrugated core are made of the same material. Large energy impact is considered that is sufficient to produce lateral deflection. Fracture is not included in analysis and it is assumed that the sandwich panel has sufficient ductility to sustain the large deformation. It is shown that the metal sandwich panel with a corrugated core possesses higher impact resistance compared to monolithic solid plate of the same mass. In addition, analytical predictions are obtained and agree well with finite element results.

Keywords:

• Metal sandwich structure
• Low velocity impact
• Corrugated core
• Energy absorption
• Dynamic plasticity
• Local denting

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant no. 11021202), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities and the National Basic Research Program of China (grant nos. 2006CB601206 and 2011CB610301).