Corrugated Sandwich Structure Modeling Under Low Velocity Impact

Abstract

Advanced carbon fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP) composites are most commonly used due to the high specific strength and stiffness of the composite material. The sandwich structure is made up of the CFRP materials for the top and bottom plate and aluminum core sheet for between the plies. Finite element analysis is performed for the hybrid sandwich structure to determine the maximum energy absorption for the different shape of the corrugated core structures such as trapezoidal, rectangular, and circular. For the same weight structure, the sandwich structure provided good stiffness and bending property as compared to the solid structure. The progressive damage model developed for the CFRP composite material to determine the realistic failure of the sandwich structure. The aluminum core failure modeled based on the elastic–plastic material model. The validation study also performed for the hybrid sandwich structure subjected to the low velocity impact (LVI) for the trapezoidal core structure. The rectangular corrugated core structure showed the maximum energy absorption, maximum peck contact force and maximum displacements comparison with the corrugated core structures such as trapezoidal and circular structure. The numerical simulation is performed for the various panels to determine the modes of failures. The hybrid sandwich structure results could be useful for the further development of the lightweight sandwich structure for various applications.