Experimental and numerical analyses of the axial crushing behaviour of hat sections partially filled with aluminium foam

Abstract

The axial crushing behaviour of hat sections partially filled with different lengths of aluminium foam was studied experimentally and numerically. Various foam filling lengths were used to identify structures that would minimize the initial peak force due to the aluminium foam filling, while still maintaining relatively high energy absorption capabilities. The superfolding element height of every non-filled hat section was measured first. Then the crushing pattern and forces of partially foamfilled hat sections were measured with different filling lengths. The test results and numerical simulations with the explicit finite element software LS-DYNA showed that appropriate partial aluminium foam filling could give a higher mean crushing force and mass specific energy absorption (SEA), in addition to a lower initial peak force than the fully foam-filled columns.