Pressure Pulse Response of Composite Sandwich Panels with Plastic Core Damping

An analytical technique is presented for obtaining the large amplitude, damped response of a foam-core composite sandwich panel subjected to uniform pressure pulse loading. The predicted panel response was in agreement with finite element analysis, and it was used to examine the blast resistance of panels with various foam cores. Although blast resistance generally increased with the increasing core density, panels with the densest cores exhibited no energy absorption before panel failure. The panel with the PVC H200 foam also sustained higher failure pressure per unit areal weight density than the denser panels with Klegecell R300 and HCP100 foams