Abstract
A microtensile test procedure has been developed to directly determine the mechanical properties of individual metal foam struts. The results reveal that the measured strut properties display a considerable reduction in elastic stiffness compared to the typical value of 70 GPa for aluminium alloys. A realistic finite element modelling procedure of the as-tested struts has been established, using X-ray micro-tomography scans of the undeformed struts, to assess the reasons for this reduction in stiffness. The material model in the FE simulations was established using a damage model that comprises of a set of continuum mechanics-based viscoplastic damage constitutive equations. The equations were calibrated with the microtensile test data and implemented into ABAQUS through the user defined subroutine VUMAT. The prime factor in the recorded reduction in stiffness was found to be slippage between the grips and the strut during testing.
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Betts, C., Balint, D., Lin, J. (2013). An Investigation of the Mechanical Properties of Open Cell Aluminium Foam Struts: Microtensile Testing and Modelling. In: Altenbach, H., Kruch, S. (eds) Advanced Materials Modelling for Structures. Advanced Structured Materials, vol 19. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-35167-9_6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-35167-9_6
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