Fatigue of a laterally constrained closed cell aluminum foam

An experimental investigation into the constant stress amplitude compression–compression fatigue behavior of closed-cell aluminum foam, both with and without lateral constraint, was conducted. Results show that while the early stages of strain accumulation due to fatigue loading are independent of constraint, the rapid strain accumulation stage behaviors are sensitive to the constraint. This was ascribed to the noticeable hardening with plastic deformation observed under constraint during quasi-static loading, which in turn reduces the effective maximum stress experienced by the foam specimen during fatigue loading. This was demonstrated through a simple empirical model that connects fatigue strain accumulation without constraint to that under constraint. Complementary X-ray tomography experiments suggest that the fatigue behavior of the foams is relatively less sensitive to morphological defects such as missing walls than the quasi-static mechanical properties such as plastic strength. Evaluation of the energy absorption behavior suggests that the damage that accumulates during fatigue does not affect the energy-absorbing ability of the foam adversely.