Low-Velocity Impact Response of Stitched Multi-layer Foam Sandwich Composites

Low-velocity impact damage known as“imperceptible”damage usually destroys the structural integrity of the material and seriously affects the service life of the materials.To improve the low-velocity impact resistance of foam sandwich composites,an innovative concept of a stitched multi-layer sandwich structure by organically combining the discrete splitting of foam layer with full thickness stitching was proposed,and its low-velocity impact resistance obtained through drop-hammer impact tests was explored.The results showed that the multi-layer foam sandwich structure acted as a stress disperser and reduced the irreversible impact damage.The depth and area of low-velocity impact damage of multi-layer foam sandwich composites gradually decreased with increasing the number of the layers.The stitched structure would improve the integrity of the foam sandwich composites and inhibit the propagation of cracks.The maximum impact load of the stitched foam sandwich composite increased by approximately 5% compared with that of the non-stitched material.In addition,the low-velocity impact damage depth,damage area and absorbed energy of the stitched three-layer foam sandwich composite were reduced by 37.7%,34.6% and 20.7%,respectively,compared with those of the non-stitched single-layer sandwich material.