Low-velocity impact of multilayer foam-filled sinusoidal corrugated sandwich beams

In this paper, a theoretical and numerical study is carried out on the low-velocity impact (LVI) response of the multilayer foam-filled sinusoidal corrugated sandwich (FSCS) beams. An analytical solution for the LVI response of the fully clamped multilayer FSCS beams is developed on the basis of yield criterion for the multilayer FSCS sections. Finite element models are established. The analytical predictions match the numerical results closely. The influences of the interlayer factor, half-wavelength, strength of sinusoidal corrugated plates, foam strength, and impact location on the LVI response of the multilayer FSCS beams are discussed. The smaller the interlayer factor, the greater the foam strength, and the farther the impact location is from the midspan, the better the impact resistance of the multilayer FSCS beams. In addition, when the deflection is larger than the total thickness of the sandwich beams, the influence of interlayer factor on the LVI of multilayer structure can be neglected. It is demonstrated that the analytical model can provide an excellent prediction of the LVI response of the multilayer FSCS beams, offering new insights for the design of sandwich structures.