Mechanical behavior and response mechanism of porous metal structures manufactured by laser powder bed fusion under compressive loading

AlSi10Mg porous protective structure often produces different damage forms under compressive loading, and these damage modes affect its protective function. In order to well meet the service requirements, there is an urgent need to comprehensively understand the mechanical behavior and response mechanism of AlSi10Mg porous structures under compressive loading. In this paper, AlSi10Mg porous structures with three kinds of volume fractions are designed and optimized to meet the requirements of high-impact, strong-energy absorption, and lightweight characteristics. The mechanical behaviors of AlSi10Mg porous structures, including the stress–strain relationship, structural bearing state, deformation and damage modes, and energy absorption characteristics, were obtained through experimental studies at different loading rates. The damage pattern of the damage section indicates that AlSi10Mg porous structures have both ductile and brittle mechanical properties. Numerical simulation studies show that the AlSi10Mg porous structure undergoes shear damage due to relative misalignment along the diagonal cross-section, and the damage location is almost at 45° to the load direction, which is the most direct cause of its structural damage, revealing the damage mechanism of AlSi10Mg porous structures under the compressive load. The normalized energy absorption model constructed in the paper well interprets the energy absorption state of AlSi10Mg porous structures and gives the sensitive location of the structures, and the results of this paper provide important references for peers in structural design and optimization.