Transverse impact loading of aluminum foam filled braided stainless steel tubes

• Experimental transverse impact loading of a novel energy dissipation device.
• Mechanical performance of the dissipation device is quantified.
• High speed photographic images permit deformation mechanisms to be studied.
• Parametric analysis, considering foam density, is completed.

The findings from an experimental study investigating the mechanical response and deformation mechanisms of empty and aluminum foam filled braided stainless steel tubes are presented within this manuscript. Tube specimens were impacted using a custom built pneumatic gun and projectile at incident velocities ranging from roughly 21 m/s to 27 m/s. Deformation and failure mechanisms resulting from the impact process were identified through the use of a high speed, high-resolution camera. Forces arising during the impact event were measured using ICP load cells and a modular DAQ system mounted within the projectile. The braided tubing utilized within this study was woven from AISI 304 stainless steel possessing a nominal wire diameter of 0.51 mm, nominal external diameter of 64.5 mm, and a length of 330 mm. Aluminum foam cores of density levels ranging from 179.22 kg/m3 to 520.47 kg/m3 were incorporated within the braided tubes having rectangular foam core geometry. Failure of tube specimens, for foam core densities typically less than 400 kg/m3, was observed to initiate within the vicinity of the annular clamps as a result of the elevated tensile forces and localized bending present within the clamped regions. For foam core densities greater than approximately 400 kg/m3, failure was noted to shift the initiation of failure to the tube mid-span as a result of localized wire failure. Levels of absorbed energy were noted to range from 1.78 kJ to 2.95 kJ for the tube specimens examined within this study.