Strength-to-Weight Optimization of Titanium Pyramidal Core Sandwich Plates
Abstract
Future military vehicles demand increasingly mass-efficient structural armor systems to satisfy design requirements of increased mobility and survivability. In order to fully realize lightweight solutions, sandwich plates consisting of monolithic facesheets and a low-density cellular core are targeted as an integral ingredient in these armor systems, providing both structural strength and stiffness via through-the-thickness load-bearing potential. In this study, sandwich plates consisting of thin facesheets and a periodic pyramidal core manufactured entirely from cold-rolled Grade 4 commercially-pure titanium (CP-1) are investigated. A plausible manufacturing route and its corresponding limitations are established, and analytical models for peak strength and effective stiffness for flatwise compression are presented. In addition, a strength-to-weight optimization technique is implemented, and model calibration experiments are conducted on the as-manufactured optimized plates. From these experiments, the model for peak strength was found to be a robust and accurate tool for depicting core performance. Although modeling effective stiffness was less successful, probable causes for reduced precision are presented. Also, the as-manufactured titanium plates are verified to be fully optimized from a strength-to-weight standpoint for flatwise compression.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 2007
- Accession Number
- ADA469829
Entities
People
- Jason R. Tice
- Kevin Doherty
- Marc Zupan
Organizations
- United States Army Research Laboratory