Low-velocity impact response of fully clamped metal foam core sandwich beam incorporating local denting effect

Local denting caused by low-velocity heavy mass impact is one of the active failure mechanisms of sandwich structures, which is important for the structural integrity assessment of sandwich structures. The objective of this work is to investigate the low-velocity impact response of metal foam core sandwich beams incorporating local denting effect. Analytical and numerical solutions are obtained for the structural response of fully clamped sandwich beams struck by a heavy mass with low velocity. The effects of local denting and foam core strength on the overall deformation of the sandwich beams are considered in theoretical analysis. Comparisons of the analytical and numerical results are presented and good agreement is achieved between the predictions and numerical results. It is seen that the load-carrying capacity of sandwich structures may be overestimated if the effect of local denting is neglected in theoretical analysis. (c) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.