Experimental study on dynamic mechanical performance of polyurethane aluminum foams composites

The polyurethane-aluminum foam was fabricated by filling the open-cell aluminum foam with polyurethane. Making use of the Hopkinson pressure bar, the dynamic compression experiments have been carried out to reinforced composites of three-dimensional continuous network composed of aluminum foam and polyurethane under different relative density, strain rate and polyurethane content. The experiment results indicate that the yield strength and the compression strain of polyurethane-aluminum foam are significantly improved, compared with the aluminum foam under the identical strain rate and relative density, and its stress-strain curve displays some obvious fluctuations. With the increase of the strain, the stress also increases and when the strain reaches a certain value, the stress corresponding to the polyurethane-aluminum foam is higher and its energy absorption is more than that of the aluminum foam. Furthermore, when the strain rate increases, polyurethane-aluminum foam presents an obvious effect of strain rate.