The response of polymeric composite structures to air-blast loading: a state-of-the-art

Composite materials are finding use in an increasing number of structural applications as a result of their high specific strength, high specific stiffness, thermal resistance and the potential for tailoring of properties to suit specific applications. Fibre-reinforced composites, foam core sandwich panels and fibre-metal laminates (FMLs) are examples of composite materials that are employed in high-performance engineering applications, for example in yachts, passenger aircraft, racing cars and sports equipment. Explosive loading is a potential threat to many of these structures, and therefore an improved understanding of the response of such systems to air-blast loading is important.

This paper reviews recent experimental and numerical work on the response of composite materials, sandwich structures and hybrid materials to air-blast loading. Commonly employed experimental techniques used to simulate air-blast loading conditions are described, along with the results from recent experiments on plain composite laminates, polymeric sandwich panels and FMLs. The influence of loading distribution, materials and test geometry on the failure of composites is discussed. The latter part of paper discusses numerical modelling considerations and reports methods and results from recent numerical modelling work on the blast loading of composites.