Experimental and Numerical Study of Compressive Deformation Behavior of Closed-Cell Aluminum Foam

Abstract

In the present study, closed-cell aluminum foams of varying porosities (65–75%) were produced through the stir casting technique using TiH2 (1 wt.%) as a foaming agent. Under the uniaxial compressive loading, the compressive stress-strain responses of these foams were examined. The finite element (FE) models of the foam were elaborated using the ABAQUS FE simulation software and realized via the ABAQUS Explicit solver. Within the test domain, the experimental results were compared with the FE-predicted ones for the same porosities and both yielded similar stress-strain responses. The energy absorption capacity, yield stress, and densification strain values of AFs obtained through FE simulation were in good agreement with the experimental results, while the predicted plateau stress values differed from the latter by no more than 4–5%.