Abstract:To improve blast and impact resistance of sandwich structures, this study introduces a composite sandwich structure comprising a re-entrant (RE) negative Poisson’s ratio core, polyethylene (PE) fibers, and silicon carbide (SiC) ceramics. Utilizing the coupled Eulerian-Lagrangian (CEL) algorithm within ABAQUS, the dynamic response of this structure under explosive loading was simulated, assessing the impact of various core layer configurations on protective performance through structural deformation mechanisms, velocity response features, and energy absorption capacities. At equivalent areal densities, the incorporation of ceramic and polyethylene layers led to reductions in upper and lower panel deformations by up to 53% and 5.7%, respectively, relative to an RE-only sandwich layer. Notably, a core configuration of SiC-PE-RE optimized interlaminar load distribution, minimizing lower panel deformation; an increase in panel support strength correspondingly reduced panel velocities. Positioning the SiC and PE layers at the upper and middle core layers, respectively, achieved peak reductions in upper and lower panel deformations by 18.84% and 16%, compared to the RE sandwich layer, exhibiting the most rapid rate of decay. Conversely, positioning the RE layer at the upper core resulted in augmented local deformations, leading to localized crushing failures in the PE and SiC layers, thereby maximizing the energy-absorption incrementby up to 14%.