Forming of Aluminum Foam Sandwich Panels

Abstract

Abstract In this study, aluminum foam was fabricated using sintering and dissolution process (SDP). Aluminum powder with a particle size (2.88μm) prepared as a raw material was mixed with NaCl with a particle size between (150-800μm) used as a space holder at different ratio (30, 40, 50 and 60) wt. % and compacted at 200 MPa followed by sintering at 650° C for 2 hrs. The sintered samples were placed into hot water for 10 hrs to dissolve NaCl particles. Uniaxial compression test was carried out to determine the foam structure influence on plastic deformation and the damage in the Al foam. It has been using optical microscope, Energy Dispersive Spectrometry (EDS) and Scanning Electron Microscopic (SEM) to investigate the pores. The properties of Al-foam were improved by extrusion process. The foam porosity is increased from (35%) to (41%).It was found that the extrusion process formed isolated pores with thicker walls than cell walls with interconnected pores to expand the use of foamed aluminum for application. EDS investigated that the ratio of NaCl is decreased after extrusion process for the Al-foam. SEM observed the distance between the pores of Al-foam is decreased after extrusion process.