Optimization of Design and Manufacturing Process of Metal Foam Filled Anti-Intrusion Bars

Journal Article · Wed May 04 00:00:00 EDT 2011 · AIP Conference Proceedings

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3589754· OSTI ID:21516739

Villa, Andrea; Mussi, Valerio ^[1]; Strano, Matteo ^[2]

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1. Laboratorio MUSP-via Turotti 9, 29122 Piacenza (Italy)
2. Politecnico di Milano-Dipartimento di Meccanica, via La Masa 1, 20156, Milan (Italy)

The role of an anti-intrusion bar for automotive use is to absorb the kinetic energy of the colliding bodies that is partially converted into internal work of the bodies involved in the crash. The aim of this paper is to investigate the performances of a new kind of anti-intrusion bars for automotive use, filled with metallic foams. The reason for using a cellular material as a filler deals with its capacity to absorb energy during plastic deformation, while being lightweight. The study is the evolution of a previous paper presented by the authors at Esaform 2010 and will present new results and findings. It is conducted by evaluating some key technical issues of the manufacturing problem and by conducting experimental and numerical analyses. The evaluation of materials and shapes of the closed sections to be filled is made in the perspective of a car manufacturer (production costs, weight reduction, space availability in a car door, etc.). Experimentally, foams are produced starting from an industrial aluminium precursor with a TiH{sub 2} blowing agent. Bars are tested in three point bending, in order to evaluate their performances in terms of force-displacement response and other specific performance parameters. In order to understand the role of interface between the inner surface of the tube and the external surface of the foam, different kinds of interface are tested.

• OSTI ID: 21516739
• Journal Information: AIP Conference Proceedings, Vol. 1353, Issue 1; Conference: ESAFORM 2011: 14. international ESAFORM conference on material forming, Belfast, Northern Ireland (United Kingdom), 27-29 Apr 2011; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.3589754; (c) 2011 American Institute of Physics; ISSN 0094-243X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
ALUMINIUM
BENDING
CAPACITY
DESIGN
EVALUATION
EVOLUTION
FAILURES
FINITE ELEMENT METHOD
FOAMS
INTERFACES
MANUFACTURERS
MANUFACTURING
MATERIALS
NUMERICAL ANALYSIS
OPTIMIZATION
PLASTICITY
SURFACES
TITANIUM HYDRIDES
CALCULATION METHODS
COLLOIDS
DEFORMATION
DISPERSIONS
ELEMENTS
HYDRIDES
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
MATHEMATICAL SOLUTIONS
MATHEMATICS
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES
METALS
NUMERICAL SOLUTION
TITANIUM COMPOUNDS
TRANSITION ELEMENT COMPOUNDS