Impact Resistance of Aluminum Foam Composites with Filler and Coating Materials

The main objective of this study is to analyze the impact resistance of aluminum foam composites containing fillers and coatings and to investigate the effect of different thickness ratios of the composites on this capability. We prepared composites using aluminum foam and polyurea and performed impact tests and numerical simulations. A comparison of the results shows that the Abaqus simulation results are in general agreement with the test results. The results show that the polyurea filler material and polyurea coating can significantly improve the impact resistance of the aluminum foam, and the best impact resistance of the aluminum foam composite with polyurea coating on the back. An extended study of the composites was carried out using a numerical model validated by the test results. For the energy absorption effect of the aluminum foam composites in the impact resistance process, there is an optimum value for the thickness ratio of the aluminum foam/polyurea composite, which is 3:1. The remaining kinetic energy of cylindrical fragments in the 3-1-1-2 composite material decreased by 13.26%, in the 4-1-1-2 composite material decreased by 11.91%, in the 2-1-1-2 composite material decreased by 11.78%, and in the 1-1-1-2 composite material increased by 2.7% when compared to the remaining kinetic energy of cylindrical fragments in the control group. The energy absorption efficiency of the aluminum foam composite increases as the residual kinetic energy of the cylindrical fragments decreases. The 3-1-1-2 composite can significantly improve the energy absorption effect, which can be used as a reference for the design of impact-resistant composites in the future.