Experimental, numerical and analytical studies on the aluminum foam filled energy absorption connectors under impact loading

In this paper, the energy absorption performances of the aluminum foam filled connectors under drop-weight impact loading were first evaluated via using experimental method. The dynamic crushing behaviors of the connectors were examined and three deformation processes were identified from the experiments. The effects of loading rate, filled aluminum foam, pleated plate thickness and angle θ_o (the angle between flat plate and pleated plate) on the energy absorption performances of the connectors were experimentally investigated, which showed that the energy absorption capacity was improved by filling the connector with aluminum foam as well as increasing loading rate, pleated plate thickness and angle θ_o. Moreover, the numerical and analytical models were also developed to predict the force–displacement responses of the connectors, which showed good agreement with the test results. The developed analytical model could be used as a convenient tool to quickly evaluate the energy absorption performances of such connectors under impact loading.