Study on Low-velocity Impact and Compression Failure of Composite Foam Sandwich Panel

Abstract

In this paper, the surface deformation and energy absorption of the structure after low-velocity impact and the bearing capacity of the compression after-impact structure were numerically simulated and experimentally studied. Firstly, the finite element method was used to simulate the low velocity impact process of the composite foam sandwich panel. The damage of the laminated structure panel is judged by the Hashin criterion. The simulation results show that the tensile failure of matrix on the outer panel is the main failure mode during process of impact. In addition, the energy absorption behavior of both the panels and the foam were compared, which is founded that the foam absorbs a lot of energy, and the remaining energy is basically absorbed by the outer panel. Finally, the axial compression calculation was carried out using the model with impact damage and undamaged condition, demonstrating that the bearing capacity of the structure with impact damage is greatly reduced.