Low-velocity impact damage and energy absorption characteristics of stiffened syntactic foam core sandwich composites

Abstract

Syntactic foam core sandwich composites are potential materials for marine structural applications because of its high specific properties and better energy absorption characteristics. Sandwich composites used for marine structures (roofs, decks, hulls etc) may encounter low-velocity impact that may cause internal damages to the material. Internal damages that happen during impact are sometimes undetectable which may lead to the reduction in load carrying ability of the structure. Present investigation explores the possibilities of minimizing the extent of damages in syntactic foam core sandwich composites due to low-velocity-impact by enhancing its perforation resistance. This was achieved by integrating stiffening grid resin impregnated paper honeycomb (RIPH) structure in syntactic foam during manufacturing. The results showed that the peak impact load carrying capacity and damage tolerance capacity of sandwich composites is solely depends on the impact energy level. The extents of impact damage and energy dissipation mechanism of sandwich composites are significantly influenced by the cell size of resin impregnated paper honeycomb structure integrated syntactic foam core. Improved energy absorption characteristics and damage tolerance capacity of stiffened syntactic foam core sandwich composites are attributed to the cell size of RIPH structure.