Stochastic mechanical modeling of MMOD impact-inspired cylindrical cavities in Duocel foam

Duocel aluminum foam is a critical component of state-of-the-art micrometeoroid and orbital debris shielding. However, its randomly-oriented constituent ligaments create a significant variability in properties at different length scales. Previous efforts have thoroughly characterized the statistical implications of micro-to macro-scale length transitions on the homogenized elastic behavior. In this work, defects are introduced in the form of cylindrical cavities designed to represent the structural effect of an MMOD impact. We utilize KRaSTk to determine the absolute magnitude of changes to the elastic modulus of structures with varying reduced density. We also explore the material’s structural evolution from isotropic to transverse isotropic that is instigated by the inclusion of these cavities, and observe that an increase in cavity volume widens the gap between in-plane and through-the-thickness elastic response. With these results, we are able to draw statistical-based conclusions regarding the effect of MMOD impact-inspired cavities on the mechanical properties of Duocel-motivated structures.