Numerical simulation of drop weight impact behaviour of closed cell aluminium foam

Numerical simulation is carried out using ANSYS/LS-DYNA for closed cell aluminium foam undergoing axial impact due to free fall of a drop hammer. Quasi-static axial crushing tests carried out on foams of three different densities were applied to derive the material properties. Mesh refinement results showed that coarse mesh was sufficient to predict the results accurately. Simulation was validated with published experimental results. Parametric study was carried out on foams of various densities for different impact velocities. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.