Aluminum cellular structures have
been fabricated by combining
a two-dimensional [/]
arrangement of square Al 6061-T6
alloy tubes with orthogonal tubes
inserted in the out-of-plane direction.
By varying the tube wall thickness,
the resulting three-dimensional
cellular structures had relative
densities between 11 and 43%.
The dynamic compressive response
of the three-dimensional cellular
structure, and the two-dimensional
[/]
array and out-of-plane tubes from which they were constructed, have
been investigated using a combination of instrumented Kolsky bar impact
experiments, high-speed video imaging, and finite element analysis. We find the
compression rate has no effect upon the strength for compression strain rates up to
2000 s,
despite a transition to higher-order buckling modes at high strain rates. The study
confirms that a synergistic interaction between the colinear aligned and out-of-plane
tubes, observed during quasistatic loading, extends to the dynamic regime. Finite element
simulations, using a rate-dependent, piecewise linear strain hardening model with a von
Mises yield surface and an equivalent plastic strain failure criterion, successfully predicted
the buckling response of the structures, and confirmed the absence of strain-rate hardening
in the three-dimensional cellular structure. The simulations also reveal that the ratio
of the impact to back-face stress increased with strain rate and relative density, a result
with significant implications for shock-load mitigation applications of these structures.
Keywords
cellular structures, 6061 aluminum, impact testing, dynamic
loads, material rate-dependence