EXPERIMENTAL AND NUMERICAL COMPRESSIVE TESTING OF ALUMINUM FOAM FILLED MILD STEEL TUBULAR HAT SECTIONS

This research deals with the experimental and numerical testing of aluminum foam filled mild steel tubular hat sections under axial compression conditions. The presence of aluminum foam within the tubular hat section provides a means of stabilizing the buckling process of the tube under axial compression. This method of applying internal support allows for a greater number of folds to be observed in the axial crushing of the hat sections and hence an increase in the energy absorption of the tube filled with aluminum foam, compared to a regular hat section without the presence of metallic foam. Experimental testing was conducted on mild steel tubular hat sections with and without the presences of aluminum foam within the tube. Load/displacement curves were developed from the experimental tests and integrated to determine the energy absorption capabilities of the tubular hat sections and the influence of the metallic foam. Finite element simulations, using LS-DYNA, were conducted on numerical models of the experimental testing procedure. An acceptable engineering correlation between the experimental and numerical testing methods was observed. This paper will present and compare the experimental and numerical observations from the compressive tests and also provide information on the energy absorption capacity of the tubular hat sections.