Analysis and parametric optimization of a novel sandwich panel with double-V auxetic structure core under air blast loading

Blast shock wave is a big threat to the military vehicle and may cause vehicle damages and passenger casualties. It is a big issue to balance the protective performance and lightweight property of military vehicle. In these days, many types of sandwich panels with different cores were applied as protective plates in military vehicles. In view of the excellent energy absorption capability of auxetic structure, applying auxetic structure as sandwich panel core for blast protection purpose is a promising field. However, existing in-plane configuration of two-dimensional auxetic honeycomb core always represent anisotropic behaviour. In this paper, a novel sandwich panel with three-dimensional double-V Auxetic (DVA) structure core, which can produce isotropic mechanical behavior, was proposed for air blast protection purpose. Its primary structural parameters and their relations were discussed, and a parametric numerical model was established. In order to reduce both the dynamic response under air blast loading and mass, the design variables and objective function of the DVA core optimization problem were confirmed, then parametric optimization was conducted based on Latin Hypercube Sampling (LHD) method, Gaussian process metamodel (GPM) and multi-objective particle swarm optimization algorithm (MOPSO). Finally, it is proved that the applied optimization process is efficient and can obtain accurate optimum points. The proposed DAV core sandwich panel performed much better both in lightweight and protection than solid plate and has an apparent merit in lightweight aspect compared with square honeycomb core sandwich panel.