Effect of Heat Treatment on the Microstructure, Compressive Property, and Energy Absorption Response of the Al–Mg–Si Alloy Foams

Due to the various structural and functional characteristics of lightweight, energy absorption, and sound/heat insulation, etc., metallic foam materials have been increasingly developed in recent years, especially for the most widely used alloy foams. Herein, the Al–Mg–Si alloy foams with a porosity...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Advanced engineering materials 2021-02, Vol.23 (2), p.n/a
Main Authors: Yang, Xu-dong, Cheng, Ying, He, Xiao-lei, Yang, Kun-ming, Zong, Rong-rong
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
aluminum alloy foams
energy absorption
mechanical property
microstructure
solution treatment
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Summary:Due to the various structural and functional characteristics of lightweight, energy absorption, and sound/heat insulation, etc., metallic foam materials have been increasingly developed in recent years, especially for the most widely used alloy foams. Herein, the Al–Mg–Si alloy foams with a porosity of 60% are prepared by a powder metallurgy technology in which the carbamide is used as the space holder material. The effect of solution treatment on the microstructure, compressive property, and energy absorption response of the as‐prepared Al–Mg–Si alloy foams is studied. The results show that when the solution temperature (T) is increased from 25 to 555 °C, the room temperature compressive strength of the Al–Mg–Si alloy foams increases from 11.2 to 26.7 MPa, but decreases when T is more than 555 °C. The strengthening mechanisms of solution treatment mainly lie in that the dislocation movement between the grain boundaries can be effectively blocked by the precipitated phases. As to the high‐temperature compressive property of the Al–Mg–Si alloy foams that are solution treated at 555 °C, the compressive strength is found to decrease from 28.7 to 12.3 MPa when the compression temperature is elevated up to 250 °C. Correspondingly, the energy absorption decreases from 17.02 to 9.14 MJ m−3. Compared to the pure Al foam, the high‐temperature softening effect for the Al–Mg–Si alloy foams is more remarkable, which is due to the formation of microcracks in the alloy matrix. The current research provides a cost‐effective and easy‐handle approach to enhance the compressive strength and energy absorption ability of the metallic foam materials. The Al–Mg–Si alloy foams with a porosity of 60% are prepared by the space holder method. The alloy foams exhibit the best compressive properties and energy absorption capacity at a solution temperature of 555 °C. Compared to the pure Al foam, the high‐temperature softening effect for the Al–Mg–Si alloy foams is more remarkable.
ISSN:1438-1656
1527-2648
DOI:10.1002/adem.202000620