Numerical evaluation of the stacking effect of spheres on the mechanics of tailor-made aluminum foams

The effect of different stacking of simple cubic (SC), body centered cubic (BCC) and face centered cubic (FCC) on the compressive characteristics of tailor-made aluminum foams (TMFs) was evaluated by the use of both response surface methodology and finite element technique. Quadratic polynomial models for describing the mechanical characteristics in terms of cell size (D), cell wall thickness (t) and height of cell layers (h) were developed. The statistically developed models revealed that t/D ratio has the most significant effect on the compressive characteristics of TMFs while the cell size showed a complex effect on the structural stiffness. Furthermore, despite the negligible importance of D, h is directly related to the strain hardening leading to an increase in plateau stress at higher value of t/D and h/D. Moreover, it was indicated that FCC arrangement has higher densification while SC arrangement absorb more energy during deformation.