A novel 3D composite auxetic sandwich panel for energy absorption improvement

• Published in: Engineering structures 2025-01, Vol.322, p.119129, Article 119129
• Main Authors: Qu, Yi Chao, Teng, Xing Chi, Zhang, Yi, Jiang, Wei Zhong, Xue, Meng Li, Xue, Tao, Shi, Jun Wen, Ren, Xin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Auxetic; Energy absorption; Engineering protection; Sandwich structure; Static compression
• ISSN: 0141-0296
• DOI: 10.1016/j.engstruct.2024.119129

In recent years, great research value has been attributed to sandwich structures as energy-absorbing components in structural protection due to their lightweight advantages. However, research on improving the energy absorption of sandwich structures by studying 3D sandwich cores is rare. Therefore, this work proposes a 3D re-entrant four-pointed star sandwich panel (RFSP) to enhance energy absorption. Grille sandwich panels (GSP) and re-entrant sandwich panels (RSP) serve as the control groups. The results show that the 3D RFSP has higher load-bearing capacity and stable deformation. Moreover, its cores compact later, which improves energy absorption. The EA of the RFSP is 1.49 times that of the GSP and 2.96 times that of the RSP. The SEA of the RFSP is 1.17 times that of the GSP and 2.33 times that of the RSP. The structure proposed in this manuscript can be applied to automotive crash beams and components of soft robots, among other applications. Furthermore, the design of 3D sandwich structures is also beneficial for the design of prefabricated sandwich panels. •A 3D re-entrant four-pointed star sandwich panel (RFSP) is proposed.•In-plane and out-of-plane compression experiments are conducted.•The proposed RFSP has enhanced energy absorption capacity.