Numerical modeling for generating ultrahigh porosity aluminum foam through independent control of pore size and cell wall thickness

Abstract

This paper proposed a numerical modeling method for generating ultrahigh porosity aluminum foam through independent control of pore size and cell wall thickness. The proposed method introduced two independently adjustable parameters (point spacing and scaling distance) to control pore size and cell wall thickness, respectively. Aluminum foam models with a porosity exceeding 90% were constructed while maintaining structural integrity using the proposed method, and the influence of key modeling parameters on the porosity of the models was discussed. The reliability of the modified method was validated by comparing both geometric morphology and dynamic mechanical properties between experimental aluminum foam samples and corresponding numerical models. The results indicate that the proposed method can effectively generate aluminum foam models with tailored pore sizes and wall thicknesses by adjusting the point spacing and scaling distance. The relative error in porosity between the experimental and numerical models is less than 3%, and the deviation in pore size distribution is within 10%. Furthermore, the numerical model demonstrates high accuracy in predicting dynamic mechanical behavior, with a relative error in yield stress as low as 1.2%. The consistent trends in the effects of pore size and cell wall thickness on dynamic mechanical properties further confirm the validity of the modeling approach.