Aluminum Foam-filled Tubes Research Articles

Deformation and energy absorption of aluminum foam-filled tubes subjected to oblique loading

Research to quantify the energy absorption of empty and foam-filled tubes under oblique loading with different loading angles and geometry parameters was carried out. Tests on circular tubes made of aluminum alloy AA6063 under quasi-static axial or oblique loading were performed. The collapse behavior of empty, foam-filled single and double tubes was investigated at loading angles of 0°, 5°, 10° and 15° with respect to the longitudinal direction of the tube. The tubes were fixed at both ends and oblique load was realized by applying a load at the upper end of a pair of specimens. When the foam-filled tubular structures subjected to oblique quasi-static loading, some new deformation modes, such as spiral folding mode, irregular extensional folding mode and irregular axi-symmetric or diamond deformation mode, were identified and ascribed to the bending of tubes and shearing of foam filler, as well as the interaction between the tubes and the foam. The energy absorption characteristics of empty and foam-filled single and double tube structures with respect to the load angle and wall thickness are determined. It is found that the energy-absorbing effectiveness factors of the circular tube structures with aluminum foam core are significant higher than those of the empty tubes and the energy absorption capacity of the foam-filled double tubes is better than that of the empty and foam-filled single tubes.

Optimization of the foam-filled aluminum tubes for crush box application

Axial impact crush tests on empty and foam-filled square aluminum tubes have been performed. Furthermore, in order to find more details about the crush processes, finite element simulations of the experiments have been done. In terms of finding more efficient and lighter crush absorber and achieving maximum energy absorption, multidesign optimization (MDO) technique has been applied for optimizing the square rectangular tubes. Based on practical requirements the optimum tube geometry, which absorbs maximum energy and has a minimum weight, has been determined. Results of previous work indicated that using high density honeycomb for filling the tubes will results more energy absorption but the weight efficiency has been lost [Zarei HR, Kröger M. Optimum honeycomb filled crash absorber design. Mater Des 2007;29:193–204]. Therefore, a comprehensive study has been performed in order to find out the crush behavior of tube filled with foam with different densities. The MDO procedure has been implemented to find an optimum filled tube that absorbed the same energy as an optimum empty tube can absorb.

Dynamic behaviour of cork and cork-filled aluminium tubes: Numerical simulation and innovative applications

Abstract Cork is a unique and complex natural cellular material with many industrial applications. The purpose of this paper is to explore a new application field for the use of micro-agglomerate cork as an energy-absorbing medium. A numerical study on the energy absorption capabilities of square and circular cork-filled aluminium tubes with a width or diameter of 80 mm, length of 300 mm and variable thickness was performed with the finite element method code LS-DYNA™. The tubes were impacted uniaxially at 10 and 15 m s-1. The same analysis was carried out on aluminium foam-filled tubes. The results demonstrate that cork filling leads to a considerable increase in the energy absorbed for both section geometries, and that tube thickness plays an important role in the deformation modes and energy absorption. The investigation revealed better results for aluminium foam-filled structures, but demonstrated that micro-agglomerate cork has high potential as an energy-absorbing medium in crash protection applications.

Modeling the progressive axial crushing of foam-filled aluminum tubes using smooth particle hydrodynamics and coupled finite element model/smooth particle hydrodynamics

As alternatives to the classical finite element model (FEM), a meshless smooth particle hydrodynamics (SPH) method, in which the discrete particles represent a solid domain, and a coupled FEM/SPH modeling technique were investigated for the numerical simulation of the quasi-static axial crushing of polystyrene foam-filled aluminum thin-walled aluminum tubes. The results of numerical simulations, load-deformation histories, fold lengths and specific absorbed energies, were found to show satisfactory correlations with those of experiments and FEM. The results further proved the capabilities of the SPH Method and coupled FEM/SPH modeling technique in predicting the crushing behavior of foam-filled thin-walled tubes.

Numerical Simulation of the Crushing of Foam-Filled Aluminium Tubes

Numerical Simulation of the Crushing of Foam-Filled Aluminium Tubes

Crushing Simulation of Foam-Filled Aluminium Tubes

A numerical study is presented in this paper to investigate the energy absorption of foam-filled aluminium tubes during crushing. The post-buckling mode of the foam-tube structures has been successfully simulated. The predicted compressive load-displacement is in a good agreement with experimental results. The energy absorption ability of the composite structure due to plastic deformation in a crushing process is evaluated by comparison with the tube structure without foam. The results indicate that the energy absorption of a foam-filled tube structure is superior to the tube without foam. The influences of the friction and the geometric parameters of the structure on the energy absorption have also been investigated. Results from this study will assist automotive industry to design crashworthy components based on foam-filled tubes.

Energy Absorption and Crushing Behaviour of Foam-Filled Aluminium Tubes

The crushing behaviour and energy absorption of foam filled aluminium tubular structures were investigated using the quasi-static compressive tests. The crushing behaviour of the tubular structures changed due to foam filling. The energy absorption of the foam filled tubular structures was improved significantly. Foam filling caused an interaction effect between the tube and the foam during progressive crushing, leading to an increase in the mean crushing load compared to that of the foam or tube itself. This interaction effect might be affected by several parameters such as the density of the foam, the properties of both the foam material and tube material, and the thickness and outer diameter of the tube. In particular, the interaction effect essentially depended on the ratio of the mean crushing force of the foam to that of the tube.