Response of aluminium corrugated sandwich panels under air blast loadings: Experiment and numerical simulation

• Dynamic response of corrugated sandwich panels under blast loading were studied.
• Deformation/failure modes of corrugated sandwich panels were obtained.
• Deformation process of core was investigated.
• Energy absorption properties of each part of sandwich panels were discussed.

Corrugated sandwich panels are widely used in various fields because such panels have lower density, easier fabrication methods and higher strength compared with monolithic plates. In this study, the dynamic response of corrugated sandwich panels under air blast loading was investigated using a ballistic pendulum system. Two configurations of the specimen were considered. The residual deflection of the back face sheet and the deformation/failure modes of the sandwich panel under different impulse levels were analysed. Finite element simulations were performed by using AUTODYN. The deformation process and energy absorption of the face sheets and the core were investigated in the numerical simulation.