Blast Resistant Enhancement of Meta-panels Using Multiple Types of Resonators

Abstract A new design is proposed for the meta-panel that consists of three components including two thin face-sheets bonded to meta-truss cores to enhance its blast resistance and energy absorption capacity. The meta-truss core comprising solid inclusions with coated soft layers exhibits exceptional wave-filtering properties by activating the local vibration of the inclusions, leading to the negative effective mass and stiffness of the meta-truss core in the corresponding frequency bandgaps, hence reducing the wave propagations. When frequencies of the applied loading fall within the bandgaps, the loading effects are not able to be transferred or significantly mitigated by the meta-truss core. In this study, the result from a previous theoretical derivation of wave propagation in an idealized meta-truss bar is used to validate the numerical model. Then, analyses of the meta-truss core configurations, e.g. the inclusion arrangement and inclusion shape on its bandgap regions and the transient responses of the meta-panel are carried out with the verified numerical model. It is revealed that a complete wave attenuation design can be achieved by utilizing properly tailored arrangements of inclusions, leading to a significantly improved protective effectiveness of the panel against blast loading. The results present a base for the optimal design of the meta-panel for structural protections against blast loading.