Investigation of the Impact Resistance of Metal–Polymer–Metal (MPM) Sandwich Laminates With Varying Core Thicknesses

Sandwich laminates of metal/polymer/metal are a type of composite material that consists of a core polymer insert between two metal sheets with superior mechanical properties, such as stiffness, high strength, plasticity, resistance to impact, and lightweight. Metal layers give the laminate strength, stiffness, and durability, whereas a polymer core gives it a plastic‐like bending, lightweight, and energy‐absorbing capacity. A wide range of industries, including electronics, construction, refrigeration, air conditioning, and autobodies, use MPM laminates extensively. Using the hot pressing technique, three sandwich sheets of AA6061/high‐density polyethylene (HDPE)/AA6061 were created according to the thicknesses of the core material. The optimization of a sandwich composite′s impact force, flexural strength, and tensile strength was examined in this work. Aluminum laminates were used as the skin materials, and HDPE with thicknesses of 1.5, 2, and 2.5 mm was utilized as the thickness of core materials. The thicknesses of the core material, material properties, and bonding technique on impact performance, tensile strength, and flexural strength of these laminates were modeled as design parameters. The failure mode and energy absorption mechanism under dynamic loading conditions were methodologically investigated in the studies. The validation of the stress–strain curve, finite element analysis (FEA) ANSYS, and experimental tensile tests were obtained based on the thicknesses of the core material parameters. In order to validate experimental stress–strain and FEM simulation, nine samples with identical core material thicknesses were used in this investigation. The results show that the actual error validation between FEM simulation and tensile experimental stress–strain tests for sandwich sheets measuring 2.5, 3, and 3.5 mm was 2.3%, 5%, and 7%, respectively. Although the impact force result achieved as the thickness of the core material increases, the energy absorption and elongation increase. This reason was due to the enhanced structural integrity and flexibility provided by the thicker core materials, which allow them to better withstand and dissipate energy during deformation. Consequently, this results in improved performance characteristics such as energy absorption, elongation, and resistance to deflection.