Energy dissipation mechanism of foam sandwich plate subjected to contact underwater explosion

  Objectives   This paper is a study of the energy dissipation mechanism of a foam sandwich plate subjected to contact underwater explosion (contact UNDEX).

  Methods  First, a series of contact UNDEX tests of foam sandwich plates is carried out in order to obtain the damage modes, and anti-explosion ability comparisons between sandwich plates and mass-equal solid steel plates with different sandwich configurations are made. Then, the damage processes of foam sandwich plates under contact UNDEX are analyzed through numerical simulation, their damage modes are simulated and the amount of energy dissipated in each sandwich plate section is calculated.

  Results  It is concluded from the tests that sandwich plates have superior anti-explosion ability over mass-equal solid steel plates, and sandwich plates with a thin face plate and a thick back plate is the configuration that provides optimal performance. The energy dissipation rate of a sandwich plate is 5%-8% higher than that of a solid plate.

  Conclusions   The energy dissipation mechanism of foam sandwich plates subjected to contact UNDEX is discussed on the basis of the test and simulation results. All the results can provide useful references for the anti-explosion protection design of naval ships.