A Comparative Study of Ballistic Resistance of Sandwich Panels with Aluminum Foam and Auxetic Honeycomb Cores

An innovative auxetic-cored sandwich panel (AXP) is proposed. Its perforation resistant performance under high-velocity projectile impact was numerically analyzed using the validated finite element simulation techniques and compared with that of the aluminum foam-cored sandwich panel (AFP) of identical dimensions and weight. It has been found that the AXP is far superior to the AFP in ballistic resistance because of the material concentration at the impacted area due to the negative Poisson's ratio (NPR) effect. A parametric study was carried out to investigate the effects of several key parameters, including impact velocity, face and core thicknesses, and core density, on the ballistic resistance of the AXP and AFP. The results show that the ballistic limit and perforation energy of the AXP is greatly affected by these parameters. Meanwhile, the advantages of AXP over AFP being used as ballistic resistant structures are highlighted. The primary outcome of this research is new information on the development and design of advanced ballistic resistant structures containing auxetic materials.

[1]  B. K. Fink,et al.  Aluminum foam integral armor: a new dimension in armor design , 2001 .

[2]  A. A. Nia,et al.  Ballistic limit determination of aluminum honeycombs—Experimental study , 2008 .

[3]  Ugo Icardi,et al.  Impact analysis of sandwich composites based on a refined plate element with strain energy updating , 2009 .

[4]  G. S. Sekhon,et al.  Effect of projectile nose shape, impact velocity and target thickness on deformation behavior of aluminum plates , 2007 .

[5]  Fabrizio Scarpa,et al.  On static and dynamic design criteria of sandwich plate structures with a negative Poisson's ratio core , 1998 .

[6]  O. Hopperstad,et al.  Constitutive modeling of aluminum foam including fracture and statistical variation of density , 2003 .

[7]  Tomasz Wierzbicki,et al.  Effect of an ultralight metal filler on the bending collapse behavior of thin-walled prismatic columns , 1999 .

[8]  M. Ashby,et al.  Cellular solids: Structure & properties , 1988 .

[9]  T. W. Clyne,et al.  Energy absorption during projectile perforation of thin steel plates and the kinetic energy of ejected fragments , 2009 .

[10]  F. Zhu,et al.  Ballistic impact experiments of metallic sandwich panels with aluminium foam core , 2010 .

[11]  Zhong Chen,et al.  Impact response of aluminum foam core sandwich structures , 2011 .

[12]  Shinya Kotosaka,et al.  A study of negative Poisson's ratios in auxetic honeycombs based on a large deflection model , 2004 .

[13]  K. Evans,et al.  Models for the elastic deformation of honeycombs , 1996 .

[14]  S. Sanchez-Saez,et al.  Numerical modelling of foam-cored sandwich plates under high-velocity impact , 2011 .

[15]  Yao Koutsawa,et al.  Experimental and numerical characterization of honeycomb sandwich composite panels , 2009, Simul. Model. Pract. Theory.

[16]  Chi Feng Lin,et al.  The strain rate and temperature dependence of the dynamic impact properties of 7075 aluminum alloy , 2000 .

[17]  Kyong S. Park,et al.  Perforation of honeycomb sandwich plates by projectiles , 2000 .

[18]  Chad A. Ulven,et al.  Impact and post-impact vibration response of protective metal foam composite sandwich plates , 2006 .

[19]  Magnus Langseth,et al.  On the influence of constitutive relation in projectile impact of steel plates , 2007 .

[20]  O. Hopperstad,et al.  Validation of constitutive models applicable to aluminium foams , 2002 .

[21]  U. Ramamurty,et al.  Strain rate sensitivity of a closed-cell aluminum foam , 2000 .

[22]  W. E. Warren,et al.  Foam mechanics: the linear elastic response of two-dimensional spatially periodic cellular materials , 1987 .

[23]  Fabrizio Scarpa,et al.  Theoretical characteristics of the vibration of sandwich plates with in-plane negative poisson's ratio values , 2000 .

[24]  Arcady Dyskin,et al.  Materials and structures with macroscopic negative Poisson’s ratio , 2012 .

[25]  M. S. Fatt,et al.  Perforation of Sandwich Panels with Honeycomb Cores by Hemispherical Nose Projectiles , 2005 .

[26]  Ruben Gatt,et al.  Negative Poisson's ratios in cellular foam materials , 2006 .

[27]  Kenneth E. Evans,et al.  A negative Poisson’s ratio carbon fibre composite using a negative Poisson’s ratio yarn reinforcement , 2012 .

[28]  Werner Goldsmith,et al.  An experimental study of energy absorption in impact on sandwich plates. , 1992 .

[29]  Kenneth E. Evans,et al.  The design of doubly curved sandwich panels with honeycomb cores , 1991 .

[30]  Vincent Caccese,et al.  Optimal Design of Honeycomb Material Used to Mitigate Head Impact. , 2013, Composite structures.

[31]  Qing Li,et al.  Design optimization of regular hexagonal thin-walled columns with crashworthiness criteria , 2007 .

[32]  Han Zhao,et al.  Perforation of Aluminum Foam Core Sandwich Panels under Impact Loading: A Numerical Study , 2007 .

[33]  Kenneth E. Evans,et al.  The manufacture and characterisation of a novel, low modulus, negative Poisson’s ratio composite , 2009 .

[34]  S. Feli,et al.  An analytical model for composite sandwich panels with honeycomb core subjected to high-velocity impact , 2012 .

[35]  F. Scarpa,et al.  Transverse shear stiffness of thickness gradient honeycombs , 2010 .

[36]  M. Langseth,et al.  Numerical simulation of plugging failure in ballistic penetration , 2001 .

[37]  Han Zhao,et al.  Perforation of aluminium foam core sandwich panels under impact loading , 2006 .

[38]  Kenneth E. Evans,et al.  The static and dynamic moduli of auxetic microporous polyethylene , 1992 .

[39]  Tomasz Wierzbicki,et al.  Ballistic resistance of double-layered armor plates , 2008 .

[40]  Sia Nemat-Nasser,et al.  Determination of temperature rise during high strain rate deformation , 1998 .

[41]  O. Sigmund.  A new class of extremal composites , 2000 .