Blast response of additive manufactured Ti–6Al–4V sandwich panels. (April 2023)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Wei, Yuchen; Zhang, Chengjian; Yuan, Ye; Chen, Pengwan; Huang, Chunyang; Li, Jiachen; Yuan, Mengqi
• Is Part Of: International journal of impact engineering. Volume 176(2023)
• Publication Date: 2023-04
• Subjects: Selective laser melting -- Ti–6Al–4V alloy -- Blast tests -- Modelling -- Sandwich panel -- Auxetic core; Impact -- Periodicals; Shock (Mechanics) -- Periodicals; Impact -- Périodiques; Choc (Mécanique) -- Périodiques; Impact; Shock (Mechanics); Periodicals; 620.1125
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijimpeng.2023.104553
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0734-743X

Abstract

Abstract: The development of additive manufacturing technique has enabled fabrication of cellular structures with complex architectures and tuned properties, which has revived recent research interests to design and manufacture innovative blast protective structures. This work presents a combining experimental and numerical effort on elucidating the response of additive manufactured (AM) sandwich panels subjected to close-proximity air blast loading. Auxetic honeycomb sandwich panels (AHSP) are fabricated from Ti–6Al–4V alloy via the selective laser melting method. Uniaxial tension tests and metallurgical investigations are, respectively, conducted to reveal the mechanical response and microstructure of the AM alloy. Blast tests are carried out to characterise the deformation and failure behaviours of the blast loaded Ti–6Al–4V sandwich panel. Computational models of the AHSP are built in LS-Dyna and validated with the experiment to provide insights into the dynamic deflection, crack propagation, pressure wave evolution and energy absorption of the AM sandwich panel. Results from parametric studies show that resistance to close-proximity blast loading can be improved with reduced deflection of bottom face sheet for sandwich panel with a low top-to-bottom face sheet thickness ratio or more layers in the auxetic core. This comprehensive study demonstrates the feasibility of using AM sandwich panel with designed auxetic honeycomb cores and face sheets as modern protective structures for enhanced blast resistance. Highlights: Auxetic honeycomb sandwich panel (AHSP) was additively manufactured (AM) via the select laser melting method. Blast field test and FE simulation were performed to study the deformation and failure of the AM AHSP under blast loading. Different failure modes were classified for AHSP under blast loadings. A Less top-to-bottom face sheet thickness ratio or more layers in the auxetic core was found to be desirable for mitigating damage.