An Innovative Approach of Using Continuous Impedance-Graded Metallic Composite System for Attenuation of Stress Waves

This paper presents an innovative approach of stress attenuation through a continuous impedance-graded material system for high strain-rate events. High energetic dynamic events such as blasts and impact could cause stress waves—in the form of elastic, plastic, and shock—to propagate in a solid material. An impedance-graded composite is created by arranging different metallic alloys in the reducing order of their impedance through the system. Impedance, which is the product of volumetric mass density and wave velocity, is chosen as the function as it plays a governing role in elastic, plastic, and shock waves. An analytical framework to quantify the stress wave propagation through an impedance-graded multimaterial system is developed based on the principles of shock and elastic wave theories. The numerical simulations carried out using nonlinear finite element code, LS-DYNA, were able to capture and quantify the elastic, plastic, and shock waves and their reflections at different interfaces. It was identified that the final transmitted stress wave, which could comprise elastic, plastic, and shock waves, as well as the reflected tensile elastic wave at each material interface, needs to be controlled in order to develop a robust multimaterial system.