Impact resistance of single-cell and multi-cell sandwich aluminum plates filled with aluminum foam

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to investigate the impact resistance and energy dissipation capacity of a new type of multi-cell sandwich aluminum alloy plate filled with aluminum foam, in comparison to the single-cell structure. To achieve this goal, 30 sandwich aluminum alloy plates were tested using a drop hammer test machine, varying impact velocity, wall thickness, and the number of internal diaphragms. The results were analyzed and finite element analysis was conducted to explore the energy dissipation mechanisms and the effect of aluminum foam on multi-cell plates. The findings revealed three failure modes and three stages of the impact force time history curve. Multi-cell plate exhibited showed much better specific energy absorption compared with the single-cell plate. Taking an example displacement of 22.5 mm, which differentiates the specific energy absorption the most between the two types of structures, the multi-cell plate exhibited an average increase of 332% in specific energy absorption compared to the single-cell plate. The numerical simulations were consistent with experimental results and highlighted the contribution of different components to energy dissipation in both structures.