The effects of foam filling on the dynamic response of metallic corrugated core sandwich panel under air blast loading - Experimental investigations

This research aims to elucidate the effects of foam filling on the dynamic response of metallic corrugated core sandwich panels by conducting air blast testing. The panels were designed to investigate the influences of specific parameters, like the foam filler density, the core configuration and the filling material, on the blast performance from the aspects of permanent deformation, failure modes and associated mechanisms. Experimental results demonstrate that foam filling is an effective way to improve blast resistance of sandwich panels. The benefits from foam filler for the reduction of the levels of the failure damage and plastic deformation of panels would be improved with the increase of foam density. Comparisons of panels with different core configurations verify that the foam-filled sandwich panel performed the best under low intensity blast loading. The superiority of foam-filled sandwich panel over the foam core sandwich panel would be swallowed up with the increase of blast loading intensity. The panels filled with PVC foams displayed a superior blast resistance over the ones filled with aluminum foams of almost same density. Moreover, the difference in blast resistance would increase with the decrease of blast intensity.