Shock Loading of Closed Cell Aluminum Foams in the Presence of an Air Cavity

Featured Application The article establishes the potential of ultra-light, closed cell aluminum foam to attenuate shocks when interfaced with air-cavities. The specific aim of the work is to capture the pressure signatures inside small cavities in steel end-walls of a shock tube when exposed to shocks, without and with foam shields of various densities. It is important to protect assets located within cavities vulnerable to incident shock waves generated by explosions. The aim of the present work is to explore if closed cell aluminum foams can mediate and attenuate incident shocks experienced by cavities. A small cavity of 9 mm diameter and 2 mm length was created within the steel end-wall of a shock tube and exposed to shocks, directly or after isolating by aluminum foam liners. Shock waves with incident pressure of 9-10 bar travelling at a velocity of 1000-1050 m/s were generated in the shock tube. Compared to the no-foam condition, the pressure induced in the cavity was either equal or lower, depending on whether the foam density was low (0.28 g/cc) or high (0.31 to 0.49 g/cc), respectively. Moreover, the rate of pressure rise, which was very high without and with the low density foam barrier, reduced substantially with increasing foam density. Foams deformed plastically under shock loading, with the extent of deformation decreasing with increasing foam density. Some interesting responses such as perforation of cell walls in the front side and densification in the far side of the foam were observed by a combination of scanning electron microscopy and X-ray microscopy. The present work conclusively shows that shocks in cavities within rigid walls can be attenuated by using foam liners of sufficiently high densities, which resist densification and extrusion into the cavities. Even such relatively high-density foams would be much lighter than fully dense materials capable of protecting cavities from shocks.