Investigation and characterisation of aluminium alloy foams with TiH2 as a foaming agent

Abstract

This article presents an account of experiments used to produce aluminium alloy foams by the melt route process using titanium hydride as a foaming agent. Powdered titanium hydride with content of 0.4–1.4% (mass fraction) was added to the molten pure aluminium and the foaming condition was controlled at 690°C (1274°F). In the process, homogeneous aluminium foams were produced with a calcium amount of 1.0–3.0% (mass fraction). The mechanical properties of the aluminium foams with diverse relative density were tested. The result indicates that the foaming agent is suitable for making small aperture aluminium foams with an average pore diameter of 1.2 mm.