The Effect of Impact Energy Parameters on the Closed-Cell Aluminum Foam Crushing Behavior Using X-Ray Tomography Method

Abstract

The present study is devoted to the numerical and experimental investigation of the influence of dominant impact parameters, including inertia and impact velocity, on the closed-cell aluminum foam behavior. In order to access 3D modeling of the internal microstructure of the foam samples, a new technique based on computerized tomography (CT) of 2D images is utilized. The influence of the abovementioned influential parameters is studied for three different foam densities. In order to validate finite element results, low-velocity impact tests were conducted. The results demonstrate that for a constant level of impactor energy, two primary impact quantities of interest, i.e. maximum stress and energy absorption, are highly dependent on the values of impactor momentum. In contrast, increasing the value of impactor inertia results in negligible variations of energy absorption for different foam densities. Similarly, increasing inertia at a constant foam density shows no significant variation in peak stress and a slight change in energy absorption. On the other hand, the velocity of impactor at a constant level of impactor energy plays a crucial role such that for all three different foam sample densities, the case of higher impactor velocity causes greater values of peak stress as well as energy absorption.