Objectives   In order to improve the blast resistance of lightweight aluminum foam sandwich panels, this paper studies the dynamic response of functionally graded aluminum foam sandwich panels under air blast loading using AUTODYN finite element software.

  Methods   Under the conditions of the same height and weight of the core, the influence of the core layer arrangement on velocity response, plastic deformation and energy absorption are analyzed and discussed.

  Results   The results show that the maximum velocity of the center point of the front face decreases with the increase of the core density of the first layer. Sandwich panels with high/low/middle core density arrangements provide the best blast resistance. The graded core absorbs most of the shock energy, and sandwich panels with a lower core density placed in the first layer have the best energy-absorbing performance.

  Conclusions   The numerical analysis results in this paper can provide references for the optimum design of the core of aluminum foam sandwich panels.