Spherical indentation of closed-cell aluminum foams: An empirical force–depth relation

The plastic indentation behavior of closed-cell aluminum foams with a spherical indenter was investigated experimentally. Dimensional analysis was introduced to present a simple scaling relation between the indentation force and the indentation depth. Indentation tests were carried out on closed-cell aluminum foams with different relative densities to examine the dependency of plastic indentation responses of aluminum foams on the densification strain. Uniaxial compression and indentation of closed-cell aluminum foams at different temperatures were carried out experimentally. The onset strain of densification was found to be temperature independent. Effects of temperature on the spherical indentation responses of aluminum foams were studied. An empirical formula for the indentation force incorporating the effects of temperature, relative density of foam and dimensionless indentation depth was presented.