Experimental and numerical studies of foam-filled sections

A comprehensive experimental and numerical studies of the crush behavior of aluminum foam-filled sections undergoing axial compressive loading is perf ormed. Non-linear dynamic finite element analyses are carried out to simula te quasi-static test conditions. The predicted crushing force and fold form ation are found to be in good agreement with the experimental results. Base d on the numerical simulations, simple closed-form solution is developed to calculate the mean crushing force of the foam-filled sections. It is found that the increase of mean crushing force of a filled column has a linear d ependence with the foam compressive resistance and cross-sectional area of the column. The proposed solution is within 8% of the experimental data for wide range of column geometries, materials and foam strengths. (C) 2000 El sevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.