Design of Functionally Graded Beam of Aluminium Foam for Civil Structural Application

Abstract:

Sandwich foam beams, made of solid skins and aluminium foam core, are usually applied in high-tech engineering field while they are not yet adopted in civil structures. An initial, explorative study on the structural application of metal foam is presented in this paper. The potentials of sandwich foam beams are studied through analytical models and parametric analyses; the sensitivity of the flexural response of the media to the total amount of pores and their spatial distribution are investigated. An analytical tool able to design functionally graded beams of metallic foam is presented and applied with reference some commercial aluminium foams. An experimental campaign is being planned to validate the presented results.

• Periodical: Key Engineering Materials (Volume 710)
• Pages: 65-70
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/KEM.710.65
• Online since: September 2016
• Authors: Gianpaolo Perrella*, Diana Faiella, Giuseppe Brandonisio, Massimiliano Fraldi, Elena Mele
• Keywords: Aluminium Foams, Civil Engineering, Lightweight Structures, Mechanical Properties

References

[1] J. Banhart, Manufacture, characterisation and application of cellular metals and metal foams, Progress in Materials Science 46 (2001) 559–632.

DOI: 10.1016/s0079-6425(00)00002-5

[2] B.H. Smith, S. Szyniszewski, J.F. Hajjar, B.W. Schafer, S.R. Arwade, Steel foam for structures: A review of applications, manufacturing and material properties, Journal of Constructional Steel Research, 71 (2012), 1-10.

DOI: 10.1016/j.jcsr.2011.10.028

[3] L.J. Gibson, M.F. Ashby, Cellular Solids, Structure and Properties, second ed., Cambridge University Press, 1999, 345-386.

[4] M.F. Ashby, A.G. Evans, N.A. Fleck, L.J. Gibson, J.W. Hutchinson and H.N.G. Wadley, Metal Foams: A Design Guide, Butterworth-Heinemann (2000), 43-44.

DOI: 10.1016/b978-075067219-1/50001-5