[Multiscale Computational Mechanics ] Optimum air blast mitigating sandwich structures with fiber-reinforced face-sheets and foam core Optimum air blast mitigating sandwich structures with fiber-reinforced face-sheets and foam core Romesh Batra1; 1DEPARTMENT OF BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING & MECHANICS , VIRGINIA POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE AND STATE UNIVERSITY, Virginia, United States; PAPER: 557/Multiscale/Regular (Oral) SCHEDULED: 18:15/Wed. 30 Nov. 2022/Similan 1 ABSTRACT: Conflicts in different parts of the world and impacts among fast moving objects produce extreme loads of very high intensity but of short duration that severely damage structures. A goal of this work to design lightweight sandwich structures that successfully protect the object to which they are strongly bonded. Realizing that design by experimentally testing several prototypes is very expensive, we use the finite element method to first ensure that the mathematical model of the problem predicts results close to test findings. Subsequently, we couple it with an optimization algorithm to find the lay-up and the thickness of 8 core layers and the fiber-reinforced face sheets to simultaneously minimize the mass and maximize either the back face deflection or the force transmitted to the rigid body perfectly bonded to the rear face-sheet. It is found that in the core the mass density and the mechanical properties do not continuously vary through the thickness. References: B. Alanbay, R.C. Batra, Optimization of blast mitigating sandwich structures with fiber-reinforced face sheets and PVC foam layers as core, Thin-Walled Structures, 179 (2022) 109721 L. Yuan, R.C. Batra, Optimum first failure load design of one/two-core sandwich plates under blast loads, and their ultimate loads, Composite Structures, Vol. 224, Art. No. 111022, 2019 Anup Pydah, R.C. Batra, Blast loading of bumper shielded hybrid two-core Miura-ori/honeycomb core sandwich plates, Thin-Walled Structures 129 (2018) 45–57 |