Study on the dynamic response of aluminum‐based curved panels coated with polyurea under impact loads

Abstract Metal curved panels are commonly used in engineering structures, but they may be more susceptible to damage under impact loads compared to flat panels. Polyurea coating has been proposed as a solution to improve impact resistance. Therefore, this study investigates the impact resistance performance of curved composite panels by applying polyurea coating to aluminum‐based panels with different curvatures. First, a numerical model of polyurea‐coated aluminum composite panels was established using the finite element software LS‐DYNA, and the sensitivity of model mesh and the numerical model validity were carried out. Then, the impact resistance performance of polyurea‐coated aluminum‐based flat panels was studied from the aspects such as deformation modes and energy dissipation, and the influence of polyurea layer thickness and coating position on the impact resistance performance of polyurea‐coated aluminum composite panels was analyzed. Based on the above results, numerical models of polyurea‐coated aluminum‐based curved panels under different curvatures are further established, and the impact resistance performance of composite curved panels and the structural forms for effective protection against impact loads are comprehensively analyzed. The research results indicate that double‐sided polyurea coating is the optimal coating method for both aluminum flat panels and aluminum curved panels. After the coating thickness reaches 4 mm, there is no significant improvement in the structural impact resistance performance. The impact deformation of curved panels can be divided into four stages: dynamic buckling, plastic indentation, rebound deformation, and vibration. The concave surface has strong impact and deformation resistance, and the convex surface has strong impact resistance. The research results have important theoretical implications for the safe engineering design of protective structures using metal curved panels.