Experimental and numerical studies on the quasi-static and dynamic crushing responses of multi-layer trapezoidal aluminum corrugated sandwiches

Abstract

The axial crushing responses of bonded and brazed multi-layer 1050 H14 trapezoid alaluminum corru- gated core (fin) sandwich structures, with and without aluminum interlayer sheets in 0°/0° and 0°/90° core orientations, were both experimentally and numerically investigated at quasi-static and dynamic strain rates. Multi-layering the core layers decreased the buckling stress and increased the densification strain. The experimental and simulation compression stress–strain curves showed reasonable agree-ments with each other. Two main crushing modes were observed experimentally and numerically: the progressive fin folding and the shearing interlayer aluminum sheets. Both, the simulation and experimental buckling and post-buckling stresses increased when the interlayer sheets were constraint laterally. The multi-layer samples without interlayer sheets in 0°/90° core orientation exhibited higher buckling stresses than the samples in 0°/0° core orientation. The increased buckling stress of 0°/0° oriented core samples without interlayer sheets at high strain rate was attributed to the micro-inertial effects which led to increased bending forces at higher impact velocities.