JOURNAL OF ALLOYS AND COMPOUNDS, cilt.1009, ss.1-13, 2024 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
Aluminum foams are desired for lightweight, high-performance, and
cost-effective materials, particularly in automotive, aerospace, and advanced
power plants. Expansion of their applications depends on developing a detailed
understanding of the structural and mechanical properties of aluminum foams. In this research, open-cell aluminum foams
with 25.51-81.88% porosity were manufactured through powder metallurgy using a
space holder technique, with varying carbamide (urea) ratios (17-80%) and
particle sizes (1-1.4 mm, 1.7-2 mm, 2-2.4 mm). Three
different ceramic particles, B4C, Al2O3, and
SiC were used as reinforcement to improve the compression properties and energy
absorption capacity of the foam materials. The study determined open and closed porosity
ratios, spherical diameter, sphericity values, micropore sizes, mechanical
properties, and energy absorption capacity of the foam samples both with and
without ceramic additives. The results show that porosity ratio, pore size, and
ceramic particle addition significantly affect aluminum foams' structural and
mechanical properties, allowing for tailored properties for specific
applications. It was observed that as porosity increased,
compressive stress decreased, and the length of the plateau region and the
shape change where densification began increased. However, there was no
significant change in compressive stress and specific energy values with
changing pore size. The
optimal B4C addition was found to be 4%, which significantly
improved compressive strength to 3.75 MPa and specific energy to 4.24 MJ m-3.