International Journal of Aerospace and Lightweight Structures

doi: 10.3850/S2010428615100011

Comparison of Two Aluminium Alloys for Their Energy Absorption Capacity Under High Strain Rate Dynamic Loadings

Damith Mohotti^a, Tuan Ngo^b and Priyan Mendis^c Department of Infrastructure Engineering, The University of Melbourne,VIC 3010, Australia. ^apushpajm@unimelb.edu.au ^bdtngo@unimelb.edu.au ^cpamendis@unimelb.edu.au

ABSTRACT

This study is a part of ongoing research to develop lightweight materials that can sustain severe loading conditions. The main characteristic of such materials is their ability to withstand large strains under both dynamic compressive and tensile loadings without undergoing fracture. The energy absorption of the material is the governing criteria for this phenomenon. The aim of this paper is to investigate the strain rate dependency of flow stresses and energy absorption capacities of two aluminium alloys, namely aluminium AA5083-H116 and aluminium AA6061-T651, under compressive dynamic loading. Two different test setups are used. The Split Hopkinson Pressure Bar (SHPB) method is used for high strain rate tests and the INSTRON tensile testing machine is used for medium to low strain rate tests. Stress-strain behaviour was obtained for the two materials under strain rates in the range of 10⁻³/s to10⁴/s. Strain rate dependency of the mechanical properties of the materials are analysed and presented. The two alloys are evaluated based on their energy absorption capacities and their rate dependency is discussed and presented.

Keywords: Energy absorption, High strain rate, Aluminium alloys.

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