Design of protective structures with aluminum foam panels

Abstract

Design of protective structures requires multiple functions and reasonable safety criteria according to target structures. Hardening is one of the common concept to protect facilities and people. A general concept of blast pressure mitigation by metal foams was proposed. In this paper, a composite panel with aluminum foams and steel skins is introduced. Aluminum foams have low density and are attractive materials to mitigate high-speed pressure by blast loads due to high-energy absorption capabilities. A steel skin with high energy absorption capacity can be effectively used to resist penetration at front surface of the barrier and debris risk at rear surface. Mechanical properties of the aluminum foam according to different densities were obtained by material tests. Three material models for concrete, steel and aluminum foam were utilized considering strain-rate effects. Using the derived material models, explicit analyses of the composite panels were performed and their performance was evaluated. The newly developed high strength foam showed higher yield strength and better energy absorption capacity resulting in lightweight protective panels. For high blast pressure, the combination of energy absorbing steel skin and relatively dense foam or thicker foam is more effective.