Metallic Ribbon-Core Sandwich Panels Subjected to Air Blast Loading

Featured Application Authors are encouraged to provide a concise description of the specific application or a potential application of the work. This section is not mandatory. Sandwich structures provide a quite promising solution for blast alleviation techniques owing to their lightweight, high strength, and impressive energy absorption capabilities relative to solo metallic plates with equivalent density. The ability of the sandwich structure to withstand blast loading relies on its core topology. This paper numerically investigates the effectiveness of using ribbon shapes as an innovative core topology for sandwich structures subjected to blast loading. The hydro-code program (Autodyn) supported by the finite element program (ANSYS) is adopted to study the dynamic response of various sandwich panels. The accuracy of the finite element (FE) models were verified using available experimental results for a field blast test in the literature. The results show that the developed finite element model can be reliably exploited to simulate the dynamic behavior of the sandwich panels. The trapezoidal (TZ) and triangular (T) corrugated core topologies were selected to highlight the blast-resistant performance of the new ribbon core topology. Applying the ribbon topology to the traditional corrugated core topologies improved their blast performance. The facing front-plate's deflection of the trapezoidal corrugated ribbon core sandwich structure (TZRC) has been improved by 45.3% and by 76.5% for the back-plate's deflection, while for the triangular ribbon corrugated core (TRC), the front plate's defection has been enhanced by 69.3% and by 112.1% for the back plate. The effect of various design parameters on the blast behavior of the Ribbon-Core Sandwich Panels (RCSPs) was investigated. A parametric study was conducted to evaluate performance indicators, including energy dissipated through plastic deformation and plate deflections. Finally, based on the parametric study, the results of this paper were recommended to be used as a guide for designing metallic ribbon sandwich structures with different protection levels.