Effect of Physical and Geometrical Parameters on the Low-Velocity Impact Response of a Sandwich Plate with Composite Face Sheets and a Flexible Core

Abstract

This study presents a nonlinear numerical analysis of low-velocity impact on a sandwich panel with composite face sheets and a compliant core, with emphasis on the influence of physical and geometric parameters on the impact response. To this end, rather than relying on approximate plate theories, a full three-dimensional impact simulation is conducted in the Abaqus software environment in order to extract the impact response based on three-dimensional elasticity theory, the implicit outcome of which is the modification of the contact law. The results indicate that the use of weaker materials in either the face sheets or the core of the sandwich panel leads to a reduction in the contact stiffness. This reduction, in turn, results in a decrease in impact force and the energy absorbed by the structure, while increasing the local indentation and the duration of impact. Furthermore, the findings show that replacing a spherical impactor with a cylindrical one significantly increases the contact stiffness. As a consequence, the impact force increases markedly, whereas the indentation at the impact location and the contact duration experience a considerable reduction. In addition, a reduction in core thickness leads to a decrease in the section’s moment of inertia, which results in an increase in impact force, local indentation, and impact duration, while the energy absorbed by the structure decreases.