E ect of SiC on microstructural features and compressive properties of aluminum foam

Composite aluminum-SiC foam was manufactured by injection of air and addition of reinforcement particles into the liquid aluminum. Microstructure and mechanical properties of the Al/SiC foams were investigated by scanning electron microscopy and compression tests. Results showed that both the cell size and the wall thickness augmented with increasing of the SiC reinforcement particles, while SiC particles resulted in the reduction of the plateau border length. With more SiC particles, plateau stress became larger, but maximum plateau strain became smaller. The stress-strain curves exhibited serrations in the plateau region due to addition of the SiC particles.