Fabrication of In-situ Syntactic Aluminium Foam-Filled Steel Tubes

Abstract

In all areas of industry, when choosing a material, compromises must be made since there is no material with all the properties that are preferential for any use. In the automotive sector, lighter and less dense materials can provide a considerable advantage, for example, lower fuel consumption due to weight reduction. Specialists dealing with materials science within metal foams have been trying to exploit the low density, high specific strength and high energy absorption capacity of metal foams in as many ways as possible for a long time. This research describes the one-step production method of syntactic metal foams with an aluminum matrix infiltrated into a thin-walled steel tube, intended to create functional structures with a strong adhesive bond and metal foam filling in a feasible way.