Hysteresis characteristics of functional gradient metal rubber: constitutive modeling and experimental validation

As a novel material that integrates structural properties and functions, functional gradient metal rubber (FGMR) has extensive application prospects due to its lightweight, thermal protection, and vibration-damping properties. Of particular interest and complexity is the unclear relationship between the gradient configuration and hysteresis characteristics, owing to the unique internal structure of FGMR. In this work, the relationship between pore characteristics and the internal structure of FGMR was investigated using a gradient equation derived from image processing, which incorporates CT scanning and threshold segmentation techniques. Based on this, a constitutive model was constructed and validated through quasi-static and dynamic compression experiments. The results demonstrate that a gradient equation can effectively represent the relationship between the density and structure. The gradient configuration has a significant influence on the compressive performance of FGMR. High prediction accuracy of the constitutive modeling for the FGMR is exhibited.