LAUSR

Abstract In this study, the deformation and damage behaviors of sandwich plates with composite foam core subjected to high velocity impact of metallic foam projectile are investigated. A series of experiments was conducted to address the dynamic response, failure modes and energy absorption characteristics of the sandwich plates with different configurations. The dynamic behavior of the sandwich plates was analyzed by using 3D-DIC technique with high speed cameras. The failure modes of the sandwich plates as well as front face sheet, foam core and rear face sheet were identified and discussed. The results indicate that the symmetric deformation of rear face sheet increased with the impact loading increasing, and the core with greater thickness lengthen the responding time of the structures effectively. Compared with the thickness of core, core density played the more important role on improving the impact resistance of the sandwich plates at same areal mass. The effect of sequence of core layers on the impact resistance can be neglected in this study. Additionally, the energy absorption analysis of the six different configurations exhibited that the plates with high density core provided more stable and superior energy absorption efficiency. The study could provide a valuable reference for designing more efficient light weight protective structures.