Abstract
Abstract
Thin-walled web-core sandwich structures are widely applied due to their weight specific mechanical performance. When subjected to a transverse load, the sandwich structures are apt to undergo local deformation which would considerably decrease the cross-sectional height and their global load resistance, especially under a concentrated load. In the paper, a novel method is proposed only to fill the upper compressive region of the web-core sandwich panels other than the whole cross section with metallic foams, which would effectively restrain the local deformation at the cost of slight increase of the structural total mass. The collapse response of web-core sandwich panels with four different reinforcing configurations under drop-weight impact is investigated using ABAQUS code. The numerical results show that the two empty panels without foam filler have a close valley force and the foam filler significantly improves the structural load-carrying capacity after the initial elastic peak force. Moreover, it is noticeable that the partially filled panel suggested here demonstrates the similar load resistance to the fully filled one and much more weigh specific energy-absorbing performance than the other three sandwich panels.