Numerical simulation on the anti-penetration performance of polyurea-core Weldox 460 E steel sandwich plates

Abstract Polyurea has the characteristic of strong energy absorption capacity, and thus it is considered to be an excellent material for structural protection. Therefore, research on the anti-penetration performance of polyurea-core sandwich plates is of great significance for understanding the mechanism of protection and extending its application. In this paper, the anti-penetration performance of polyurea-core sandwich plates is investigated by using the AUTODYN-2D axisymmetric algorithm. Firstly, the accuracy of the numerical algorithm and the polyurea material model are both validated against the experimental data. On the basis, four different thicknesses (from 8 mm to 20 mm) of the interlayer and seven different initial impact velocities (from 300 m/s to 1100 m/s) are selected to study the anti-penetration performance of the polyurea-core sandwich plates under different conditions. Meanwhile, the comparative numerical cases are also performed using rubber-core sandwich plates. The results show that during the penetration, the polyurea presents obvious self-closing behavior, which increases the ballistic resistance. With respect to the rubber-core sandwich plate, the velocity drop per unit areal density of the polyurea-core sandwich plate, as well as the energy absorption ratio, is always greater. As a result, the polyurea interlayer can significantly improve the anti-penetration performance of the sandwich plate.