An analytical model of linear density foam–protected structure under blast loading

Abstract

Aluminium foam is widely known as an energy absorptive material which can be used as a protective cladding on structures to enhance blast resistance of the protected structures. Previous studies show that higher density provides larger energy absorption capacity of aluminium foam, but results in a larger transmitted pressure to the protected structure. To lower the transmitted pressure without sacrificing the maximum energy absorption, graded density foam has been examined in this study. An analytical model is developed in this article to investigate the protective effect of linear density foam on response of a structure under blast loading. The model is able to simulate structural deformation with reasonable accuracy compared with experimental data. The sensitivity of density gradient of foam cladding on reinforced concrete structure is tested in the article.