Blast resistance of sandwich-walled hollow cylinders with graded metallic foam cores

The dynamic responses and blast resistance of all-metallic sandwich-walled hollow cylinders with graded aluminum foam cores are investigated using finite element simulations, and compared with those of conventional ungraded ones. After validating the numerical approach and introducing the computational model, sandwich-walled hollow cylinders with various graded aluminum foam cores are analyzed under air blast loading. It is demonstrated that the radial deflection of graded cylinders is smaller than and the blast resistance superior to that of ungraded ones when subjected to identical air blast loading. This can be further improved by optimizing the foam core arrangement. Finally, the influence of face-sheet arrangements on the dynamic behavior of graded cylinders is explored. (c) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.