Impact Testing and Simulation of a Sinusoid Foam Sandwich Energy Absorber

A sinusoidal-shaped foam sandwich energy absorber was developed and evaluated at NASA Langley Research Center through multi-level testing and simulation performed under the Transport Rotorcraft Airframe Crash Testbed (TRACT) research project. The energy absorber, designated the “sinusoid,” consisted of hybrid carbonKevlar® plain weave fabric face sheets, two layers for each face sheet oriented at ±45° with respect to the vertical or crush direction, and a closed-cell ELFOAM® P200 polyisocyanurate (2.0-lb/ft 3 ) foam core.