The effect of process parameters on cell morphology in cellular aluminium alloy fabricated by powder compression and the induction heating process

Abstract

In a foaming process, accurate control of the foaming temperature and heating rate is very important in terms of reproducibility of mechanical properties. Generally, foaming of the precursor is performed in an electric furnace, which is preheated at temperatures higher than the desired temperature. In this case, accurate control of the precursor temperature is difficult. In this study, cellular aluminium alloy having a closed cell structure is fabricated by applying the powder compact method and an induction heating process. The induction heating process was used for foaming of the precursor in order to improve the reproducibility of mechanical properties. To establish the cellular aluminium fabrication conditions, the effects of process parameters such as the titanium hydride content (0.3-1.5 wt%), pressing pressure of the foamable precursor (50-150 kN) and the foaming temperature (610-690°C) on the pore morphology were investigated and porosities (%)-foaming temperature curves were obtained.