COMPUTATIONAL RECONSTRUCTION OF SCANNED ALUMINUM FOAMS FOR VIRTUAL TESTING

A procedure for analysis of geometrical features of real metallic open-cell foams using computer tomography and additional image processing is presented. Obtained threedimensional computer foam model was used for geometrical and structural analysis of the aluminum foam sample. Measurements of foam geometrical features show that its structure significantly differs from the theoretical equilibrium models used in research of liquid foams (soap froth), since solid foams have richer and more diverse distribution of basic cell building blocks. Those findings are also supported by performed computational simulations which were used to analyze the effect of measured cell elongation on the mechanical properties of the foam. Considerable effect on mechanical properties was observed, which suggests that more realistic foam models have to be used to improve the understanding of foam structure effects on their macroscopic properties.