Design optimization and structural integrity simulation of aluminum foam sandwich construction for armored vehicle protection

摘要

Structural blastworthiness is an ability of a structure to deform with a controlled force and maintain a survival space around the occupants to minimize injury risks during a blast impact incident. A proposed blastworthy aluminum foam sandwich (AFS) construction is designed and optimized for armored vehicle (AV) protection. The proposed AFS structure consists of four main components, namely an occupant side plate (OSP), a struck side plate (SSP), an Al-foam core, and adhesive bonding layers. The blastworthy characteristics of the AFS were analyzed by using a non-linear finite element simulation methodology subjected to blast impact loading. The baseline numerical simulation was correlated to a single plate experimental data. In order to minimize acceleration and structural intrusion during the blast impact incident, the AFS design parameters were optimized by using the design for six sigma (DFSS) methodology to achieve a robust AFS structure and to screen the significant design parameters. The optimum design parameters are influenced mainly by the bonding pattern/ strength, OSP and SSP material strength/thickness, and foam strength/thickness. The usage of optimized AFS on an AV shows very promising results for the structural blastworthiness application of a small armored vehicle. These findings will pave the way for a robust design of lightweight and efficient AFS construction for AV protection in the future.