Abstract：The mechanical response of aluminum foam-filled thin-walled metal tubes under lateral quasi-static loading was investigated experimentally and theoretically. Based on the energy method, some theoretical relations were derived to estimate the instantaneous and mean lateral forces, as well as the energy absorption of aluminum foam-filled tubes during the flattening process. Some lateral compression tests under quasi-static condition were carried out on the empty and foam-filled tubes using the universal testing machine. A good agreement was observed when comparing the theoretical results with the experimental ones. Additionally, the influences of geometrical dimension of tube and density of aluminum foam on the instantaneous and mean lateral forces, as well as energy absorption and specific energy absorption (SEA) were discussed based on the theoretical model. The study shows that the energy absorption of aluminum foam-filled tubes is higher than that of the corresponding thin-walled metal tubes. The total energy absorption and lateral force increase with the increases of tube length, thickness and diameter. When the density of aluminum increases, the total energy absorption and lateral force of foam-filled tubes increase accordingly.
2017, Vol. 38 
