Novel strengthening method of closed-cell aluminum foams through surface treatment by resin

Aluminum foams are focused on as a lightweight structural material because of their excellent energy absorbing capacity. However, compressive strength of aluminum foams is much lower than that of dense aluminum. This is due to local buckling of the inhomogeneous cell structure. The authors carried out infiltration of open surface pores with polyester resin because buckling starts at the open surface pores. Compressive tests using commercial aluminum foams show significant increases in compressive strength and absorbed energy. Since the density of resin is not high, the specific compressive strength and specific absorbed energy are also increased.