Advanced Simulations of Cellular Structures with LS-DYNA

Cellular structures have an attractive combination of physical and mechanical properties and are being increasingly used in modern engineering applications. In this study the influence of different parameters (type of base material, type of pore filler, relative density, size of the cellular structure, strain rate) on behaviour of open- and closed-cell cellular structures under impact loading was investigated by means of computational simulations using the explicit finite element code LS-DYNA. The influence of gas filler inside the closed-cell cellular structure was analysed using the representative volume element and the airbag model. The analysis of the fluid filler behaviour inside the opencell cellular structures was done with combination of the Finite element method and the Smoothed particle hydrodynamics meshless method. The base material properties and macroscopic behaviour of cellular structures with and without fillers were determined with experimental measurements of appropriate specimens under quasi-static and dynamic uniaxial loading conditions. Computational simulations show that the base material has the highest influence on behaviour of cellular structures under impact conditions. The increase of relative density and strain rate results in increase of the cellular structure stiffness. Parametric computational simulations have also confirmed that the filler influences macroscopic behaviour of the cellular structures, which depends on the loading type and the size of cellular structure. In open-cell cellular structures with higher filler viscosity and higher relative density, increased impact energy absorption is observed.