Response of foam concrete-filled aluminum honeycombs subject to quasi-static and dynamic compression

Abstract

To prevent premature failure, aluminum honeycombs of the same areal density with and without foam concrete filling subjected to quasi-static and dynamic compression are experimentally tested. The influence of major governing factors including cell size of honeycomb, density of foam concrete, and loading rate on the performance in terms of compressive strength and energy absorption capacity are systematically examined. It is found that without foam concrete filling, the out-of-plane strength and energy absorption capacity of honeycomb of the same areal density increase with decreasing cell size, under both quasi-static and dynamic crushing. With foam concrete filler, the load bearing and energy absorption capacity of the honeycombs increase by 33–207% compared to those of the corresponding foam concrete and honeycomb added up separately, and increase with increasing foam concrete density and decreasing honeycomb cell size, regardless of being compressed quasi-statically or dynamically.