Preliminary investigation of aluminium foam as an energy absorber for nuclear transportation cask

Closed cell aluminum foam is investigated for its impact energy absorption characteristics. For this purpose, a drop hammer of 106 kg was fabricated. A free-fall drop tower was used for the experiments. The hammer was impacted on the rigid foundation with and without aluminium foam at its bottom. Acceleration–time history was recorded for each drop. Deflection of the foam undergoing impact was measured. Compression test was carried out on a foam cylinder to obtain the representative stress–strain diagram from which energy–deflection diagram was derived. Gibson–Ashby’s plateau stress–density relation was applied to evaluate the energy–deflection characteristics of foams of different densities, which were eventually applied to the theoretical predictions. Force reduction factor offered by foam is attractive enough to considering, it as the candidate for sacrificial member of the transportation cask.