Low velocity impact penetration response of foam core sandwich panels with face sheets

Foam aluminum sandwich panels have potential applications in many fields because of their excellent performance. This study aims to explore the low velocity penetration dynamic response of foam sandwich panels. Based on the experimental results, a three-stage penetration model is established. Based on the principle of energy conservation, minimum potential energy and accumulating damage theory, the load and displacement time history, energy absorption and initial failure mode of the sandwich panel during penetration are predicted theoretically. The theoretical prediction results are compared with the experimental results, showing that the predicted failure load and deformation are within 10% of the experimental data. This paper provides an analytical method for studying the deformation failure mode and energy absorption mechanism of metal foam sandwich panels, which is helpful to improve the efficiency of metal foam sandwich panels in design.