Characterization of metal grid-structure reinforced aluminum foam under quasi-static bending loads

Abstract

This paper investigates the bending property of metal grid-structure reinforced aluminum foam (MGS-AF) prepared by a melt foaming technique. For this purpose, quasi-static three-point bending tests of aluminum foam with and without metal grid-structures (MGSs) were performed. Experimental results indicate that the failure mode of MGS-AF was transformed from a single tensile failure to a combination of both tensile failure and compressive failure. Yield stress improved from 2.92 to 3.81MPa for traditional aluminum foam to 6.58–8.41MPa for MGS-AF. Also, a wide amplitude of stress plateau was detected after yield deformation. Additionally, the existence of MGS significantly improved the energy absorption capacity from 3.0 to 37.1–53.1J and enhanced the specific energy absorption from 0.15–0.17J/g to 1.34–1.50J/g under the same deflection of 25mm.