COMPRESSIVE CAPACITY AND FRACTURE MECHANISM OF ALUMINUM FOAM

The compressive test of aluminum foam samples manufactured by the melt foaming method were carried out and the compressive curves of stress-strain were discussed in this paper. The behavior of deformation by compression and the energy absorption of the aluminum foam were studied. The test results showed three regions during the deformation: linear elastic deformation region, collapse region and densification region. As the porosity increases, the capacity of elastic strain resistance reduced significantly, and the specimen with a porosity of around 76% has the highest energy absorption capacity. The aluminum foam failed by a mixture of malleable tearing and brittle fracture, moreover the slit develops along the grain border.