The Response of Honeycomb Core Sandwich Panels, with Aluminum and Composite Face Sheets, to Blast Loading

The results of blast tests on sandwich panels with honeycomb cores are reported. Two core heights (13 mm and 25 mm) and two face sheet materials (glass fiber epoxy composite and aluminum alloy) were investigated. Increasing the core thickness reduced the permanent displacements exhibited by the sandwich panels. The panels with composite face sheets also exhibited smaller residual displacements than the aluminum face sheet counterparts. Damage took the form of core crushing, core shearing, debonding of the face sheet from the core, permanent displacement, cracking of the composite face sheets, and tearing. Higher damage levels were observed at elevated impulse levels. Load localization was found to concentrate the damage to the central portion of the panel, preventing the whole panel being employed in resisting the blast.