ABSTRACT
We develop a consistent formulation from digital image based analysis to the distribution of macroscopic properties for metal foams in order to predict the scatter of eigenfrequencies for bending beam structures. With the help of computed tomography, statistical characteristics of the cell geometry of open cell foams are estimated. This information allows for the calibration of a random mosaic generator, that reproduces the statistical properties of the cell geometry. Samples obtained with the mosaic generator are analyzed via the finite element method. Distributions of apparent properties are computed and the covariance function of apparent properties is estimated by considering volume elements at different locations of the macrostructure. Having thus a description of random fields for the apparent properties at hand, Monte Carlo simulations can be applied to predict the eigenfrequencies, their scatter and the associated eigenforms of beams made of metal foam. The results are validated by experiments.
Keywords: Metal foams, Digital image based analysis, Random fields, Apparent properties, Bending modes.
