Energy Absorption Characteristics of Closed-cell AZ91 Magnesium Alloy Foam

The energy absorption characteristics of foam materials can be represented by specific energy absorption W, energy absorption efficiency E and ideal energy absorption efficiency I. The influences of strain rate, cell size, relative density and the content of SiC on energy absorption characteristics of magnesium alloy foam were investigated by dynamic compression experiments. The experimental results showed that the cell size of magnesium alloy foam had significant effect on energy absorption characteristics and the strain rate effect of closed-cell AZ91 magnesium with larger cell size was more sensitive, and the strain rate effect was more sensitive to the closed-cell AZ91 magnesium with larger cell size. The energy absorption characteristics could be optimized by adjusting the cell size. Moreover, the influence of relative density on energy absorption characteristics was not significant and high content of SiC particle had unfavorable effect on energy absorption properties of magnesium foam.