Investigation of the Impact Behaviors of Curved Fiber–Reinforced Foam Sandwich Materials

ABSTRACT In explosive‐impact environments, protective materials are critical for safety. This study explores the quasi‐static compression and dynamic impact performance of a curved sandwich material, considering the curvature of the human body. The material comprises a carbon fiber/aramid laminate panel and a polyurethane foam (PU) core layer. Microstructural analysis reveals strong impact recovery, with only a 19.61% pore area reduction after a high strain rate impact. While curvature has little effect on elastic modulus, it significantly influences compressive strength and energy absorption capacity at high strain rates (≥ 850 s ⁻¹ ), with maximum variations reaching 14.86%. DIF analysis further reveals that materials with higher curvature exhibit greater strain rate sensitivity under dynamic loading, indicating that curvature optimization is an effective strategy for improving impact resistance. This study provides theoretical support for optimizing the design of human body impact protection materials, emphasizing the importance of controlling the curvature of the material under different impact conditions.