TY - JOUR
T1 - The effect of cell-size dispersity on the mechanical properties of closed-cell aluminum foam
AU - Su, Bo Yuan
AU - Huang, Chun Min
AU - Sheng, Hao
AU - Jang, Wen-Yea
PY - 2018/1/1
Y1 - 2018/1/1
N2 - The mechanical properties of open-celled and closed-celled metallic foam are strongly influenced by the cellular microstructure and material properties of the base material from which the foam is made. The present study investigated the microstructure and mechanical properties of ALPORAS closed-cell Al foam. In particular, the effect of cell-size dispersity on the Young's modulus of foam was investigated through crushing experiments and numerical simulations. Crushing experiments were first conducted on two mutually perpendicular directions. Numerical models of varying cell-size dispersity and complexity were subsequently developed, including the monodispersed model that is based on the Kelvin structure, the bidispersed model, and the polydispersed model that is based on the random Laguerre tessellation algorithm. The numerical models were discretized using shell elements, and the simulations were conducted using the ABAQUS finite element method software. Relative Young's moduli with various relative densities were predicted, and the numerical convergence on the model size was studied accordingly. Numerical results obtained from all three numerical models developed were found to overestimate the experimental results by a factor of approximately 3. The difference between the numerical and experimental results can be attributed to the difference in detailed microstructural characteristics. Furthermore, the difference among numerical results obtained from the three models was insignificant.
AB - The mechanical properties of open-celled and closed-celled metallic foam are strongly influenced by the cellular microstructure and material properties of the base material from which the foam is made. The present study investigated the microstructure and mechanical properties of ALPORAS closed-cell Al foam. In particular, the effect of cell-size dispersity on the Young's modulus of foam was investigated through crushing experiments and numerical simulations. Crushing experiments were first conducted on two mutually perpendicular directions. Numerical models of varying cell-size dispersity and complexity were subsequently developed, including the monodispersed model that is based on the Kelvin structure, the bidispersed model, and the polydispersed model that is based on the random Laguerre tessellation algorithm. The numerical models were discretized using shell elements, and the simulations were conducted using the ABAQUS finite element method software. Relative Young's moduli with various relative densities were predicted, and the numerical convergence on the model size was studied accordingly. Numerical results obtained from all three numerical models developed were found to overestimate the experimental results by a factor of approximately 3. The difference between the numerical and experimental results can be attributed to the difference in detailed microstructural characteristics. Furthermore, the difference among numerical results obtained from the three models was insignificant.
KW - ABAQUS
KW - Cell-size dispersity
KW - Closed-cell foam
KW - Laguerre tessellation
KW - Mechanical properties
KW - Numerical simulation
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85034837138&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.matchar.2017.11.035
DO - 10.1016/j.matchar.2017.11.035
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85034837138
VL - 135
SP - 203
EP - 213
JO - Materials Characterization
JF - Materials Characterization
SN - 1044-5803
ER -