Numerical study of energy absorption in aluminum foam sandwich panel structures using drop hammer test

The sandwich structures with aluminum foam core and metal surfaces have widespread use in the absorption of energy, because they are light weighted with high performance in dissipating energy. The cell structure of the foam core is subjected to plastic deformation in the constant compression level that absorbs a lot of kinetic energy before destruction of the structure. In this research, experimental tests of low-velocity impact on the sandwich structure by a drop machine are simulated by LS-DYNA software. Numerical results are obtained for different velocities and weights of projectile on samples of aluminum foam core sandwich panels with relative density (the ratio of the density of aluminum foam to the density of solid aluminum) of 18, 23, and 27. The results are compared with experimental results which reveal a good conformity. As well, from the numerical simulations, the effect of weight, velocity and energy of the projectile and the density of the foam core on the global deformation and energy loss rate of projectile have been studied.