Investigation of mechanical properties of tubular aluminum foams

Abstract

This manuscript focuses on the mechanical behavior under compressive and bending loadings of tubular aluminum foams. The tubular structures were manufactured using the powder metallurgy technique. Tubular aluminum foams were fabricated by heating foamable precursor materials above their melting temperature in a mould. The influence of important parameters such as wall thickness and density of foam on the mechanical properties was investigated. It was found that the 6 mm thick specimen showed a lower collapse strength than the thicker 9 mm specimen. Despite the decrease in densities of the samples, the collapse strength increased with the increase in wall thickness. The reduction of approximately 33 % in wall thickness (from t = 9 mm to 6 mm) decreased the bending performance of the tubular aluminum foams by approximately 50 %.