Constitutive laws for the design of metallic foam

Cellular materials have recently found attention in structural applications to buffer impacts and for energy absorption. In order to choose the most suitable cellular material based on its intended application, one must understand its mechanical response either through experimentation and/or modeling. Accurate modeling of the response of a material has many advantages, as it helps avoid extensive experimental laboratory tests and provides a fast and efficient avenue to explore the design space and optimize with a specific intent. The problem solved by the present research is as follows: How does one estimate the foam properties, such as porosity and void fraction, to produce a metallic foam with desired mechanical properties, such as Young’s Modulus and Poisson’s ratio? The solution to this problem is vitally important as it will yield an entirely new class of materials with tunable mechanical properties and dramatically improved shock and crack resistance. Therefore, the present work seeks to develop con...