Temperature-Related Containment Analysis and Optimal Design of Aluminum Honeycomb Sandwich Aero-Engine Casings

Aero-engine casings with excellent impact resistance are a practical requirement for ensuring the safe operation of aero-engines. In this paper, we report on numerical simulations of broken rotating blades impacting aluminum honeycomb sandwich casings under different temperatures and optimization of structural parameters. Firstly, an impact test system with adjustable temperature was established. Restricted by the temperature range of the strain gauge, ballistic impact tests were carried out at 25 °C, 100 °C, and 200 °C. Secondly, a finite element (FE) model including a pointed bullet and an aluminum honeycomb sandwich plate was built using LS-DYNA. The corresponding simulations of the strain–time curve and damage conditions showed good agreement with the test results. Then, the containment capability of the aluminum honeycomb sandwich aero-engine casing at different temperatures was analyzed based on the kinetic energy loss of the blade, the internal energy increment of the casing, and the containment state of the blade. Finally, with the design objectives of minimizing the casing mass and maximizing the blade kinetic energy loss, the structural parameters of the casing were optimized using the multi-objective genetic algorithm (MOGA).