The role of plastic deformation on the impact behaviour of high aspect ratio aluminium foam-filled sections

The main objective of this work is to investigate the role of the plastic deformation of metal foams on the dynamic behaviour of aluminium foam-filled columns with respect to their energy absorbing capabilities. The influence of the cross-section shape as well as other parameters is thoroughly studied. A comparison with correspondent hollow-sections is performed concerning the dissipation of kinetic energy and the obtained deformed profiles. For this particular purpose, three-dimensional finite element modelling dynamic analyses are carried out using ABAQUS/Explicit in order to achieve an in-depth study of the structural crash behaviour, during which energy needs to be absorbed in a controlled manner. A comprehensive numerical study of the crush behaviour of aluminium foam-filled sections undergoing axial compressive loading is performed. The results obtained are also analysed with respect to the reduction in the length of the structural element and impact time, the effect of friction between the foam and the outer skin, the energy decomposition, the role of plastic deformation, the influence of the skin material and impact velocity, and the influence of the shape of the cross-section on the impact behaviour. A comparison with existing analytical expressions is made in order to corroborate the numerical results.