Numerical Investigation of Dynamic Response and Failure Mechanisms for Composite Lattice Sandwich Structure under Different Slamming Loads

This paper mainly investigates the slamming dynamic response and progressive damage evolution of the composite lattice sandwich structure under different slamming velocities and deadrise angles. Based on the Coupled Eulerian–Lagrangian (CEL) method, an integrated numerical model of sandwich structures is developed to simulate the slamming process, in which the progressive damage evolution of composite material is considered with VUMAT subroutine. The reliability and accuracy of the corresponding numerical models are verified through the comparison between numerical and experimental results. Then, the typical slamming behavior of composite lattice sandwich structure is analyzed in detail, including hydrodynamic force, jet flow/water pressure distribution, progressive damage evolution and absorption energy. Subsequently, the influences of slamming velocity and deadrise angle on the hydrodynamic response and damage modes of the sandwich structures are investigated based on the developed numerical models. The results demonstrate that the slamming velocity and deadrise angle have significant influences on the hydroelastic behavior and damage modes of composite lattice sandwich structures. In the process of slamming, matrix damage and delamination damage are more prone to appear in the chine region, while the fiber damage more likely occurs under the higher slamming velocity and lower deadrise angle cases.