AN INVESTIGATION ON THE ENERGY ABSORPTION OF ALUMINUM FOAM CORE SANDWICH PANEL VIA QUASI-STATIC PERFORATION TEST

Aluminum foams are a novel branch of advanced materials with superior properties. Sandwich structures with aluminum foam core are good energy absorbers. In this paper, mechanical properties and energy absorption of aluminum foam sandwich panels subjected to quasi-static perforation tests with conical-nosed indenter were investigated experimentally. For this purpose sandwich panels consisting of two aluminum face-sheets and a closed cell aluminum foam core were fabricated. Quasi-static perforation tests on fully fixed sandwich panels were carried out by a universal testing machine at a cross head speed of 0.02 mm/s. Force-displacement curves were recorded and peak piercing force and absorbed energy of sandwich panels were calculated accordingly. Effects of foam core density (0.5, 0.6 and 0.7 g/cm3) and thickness of facesheets (0.6, 1 and 2 mm) and foam core (10, 20 and 30 mm) on the mechanical properties and energy absorption of samples were discussed. The results showed that increasing foam core and face-sheet thickness and foam core density led to more total absorbed energy being achieved and higher piercing force.