Dynamic responses and damage evolution of conformal radome composites under blast loading

In this paper, the dynamic responses and damage evolution of two types of conformal radome composites (CRCs), namely single-window conformal radome (SWCR) and multi-window conformal radome (MWCR), under blast loading, were investigated using numerical methods. The results show that the local dynamic response of the conformal window is dominating. The window deformation of SWCR is larger than that of MWCR under the same scaled distance, and the MWCR exhibits better blast resistance. The increase in window size causes the reduction of the bending stiffness of CRCs. The obvious stress concentration appears in the notch of carved foam cores, caused by the window effect. The conformal windows are weak parts for the CRCs under the blast loading. It was revealed that the damages of CRCs are mainly concentrated at the edges, center, and diagonal areas of the conformal windows.HighlightsDesigned two types of conformal radome composites with hierarchical configuration.Established the finite element (FE) models of two types of conformal radome compositesRevealed the dynamic responses and damage evolution of conformal radome composites under blast loading. Numerical analysis methods of conformal radome composites under blast loading.image