Mechanical Behavior of Innovative Reinforced Aluminum Foam Panels

Metals foams are attracting great interest in aerospace, automotive and military fields. Particularly, the closed-cells aluminum characterized by peculiar properties, such as low specific weight coupled with high energy absorption capacity, stiffness strength reduced thermal electrical conductivity. For above reasons, can be effectively used core of sandwich structures, replacing traditional honeycomb polymer-based foams. However, under loading conditions, foam was proved to collapse because bubble-cell structure, so affecting mechanical performance constructions. Different solutions have been studying literature reinforce foam-based core; for example, authors previous studies investigated possibility use a metal grid inside corrugated skeleton, improve its behavior compression. Therefore, based on these premises, aim this work is understanding innovative reinforced panels through an experimental approach consisting three-point bending tests. In particular structures without acting skeleton core, were manufactured. The properties estimated also considering two different types steel employed structure reinforcing skins.