Summary
A study on the bending collapse of thin-walled beams filled with aluminum foam or aluminum honeycomb was carried out. The strengthening effects of ultralight metal fillers were quantified numerically and experimentally. The moment-rotation characteristics of filled sections were derived, and the results were then incorporated with structural optimization technique to develop a methodology for crashworthiness optimization of filled members. The proposed methodology requires relatively simple computations and is suitable for early stage design of crash members. Finally, the optimization problem of filled sections under combined compression/bending loading was formulated and solved. The optimization results showed potentials of significant weight saving and volume reduction by utilizing ultralight metal filler.
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Chen, W., Wierzbicki, T. & Santosa, S. Bending collapse of thin-walled beams with ultralight filler: numerical simulation and weight optimization. Acta Mechanica 153, 183–206 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01177451
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01177451