Effects of boron waste as a reinforcement in the production of Al composite foams

Abstract

Abstract In this study, the effect of using boron products in the production of aluminium composite foam on the formation of pores and mechanical properties of the material was investigated. Metallic foam was produced by powder metallurgy method by adding borogypsum to the Al matrix and using boric acid (H3BO3) as a pore former. Samples containing 5, 10 and 20 wt% borogypsum were prepared at initial pressing pressures of 420 MPa and 630 MPa and sintered at 550 °C for 3 h. As a result of microhardness measurements taken from the cell wall of foam samples with ∼40% porosity, it was determined that the hardness value increased as the borogypsum ratio increased. According to the results of the quasi-static compression test performed at a deformation rate of 10−3 s−1 at room temperature, the hardness and strength values of 20 wt% borogypsum reinforced Al composite foam prepared at 630 MPa pressure increased. In addition, mechanical properties such as plateau tension and elastic modulus for each sample were theoretically determined with the Gibson–Ashby approach.