Experimental and numerical evaluation of energy absorption capacity of sandwich panel with polyurethane foam core reinforced with mineral pumice under explosive loading

Sandwich structures with cores made of porous materials such as various types of metal and polymer foams are effective in absorbing the energy of explosive loads and due to their lightness can be used well in various industries. In this paper, deformation and energy absorption of sandwich panels with aluminum and steel face sheet and cores made of polyurethane foam, which is filled with two types of mineral pumice of different sizes (so-called chickpea size and almond size), under experimental free explosion loading. And numerical simulation has been studied with the help of Abaqus finite element software. In this study, the mechanical behavior of the core was first studied by making samples of polyurethane foam and mineral pumice under compression testing and the results were used in software behavioral models. After comparing the numerical results with the results of experimental test, and validating the results of numerical methods, numerical parametric studies were performed and the effect of pumice type, core thickness, face sheet material and thickness on the rate of deformation and energy absorption of sandwich panel components have been studied. The results show that the panel with a thicker back face sheet has a better performance in absorbing explosion energy. Also, as the strength or thickness of the face sheets increases, the role of the core in energy absorption decreases.