Processing of NaCl powders of controlled size and shape for the microstructural tailoring of aluminium foams

NaCl powders are prepared by anti-solvent crystallisation, varying in controlled fashion the morphology and size of resulting powders. These powders are then used to produce open-cell pure aluminium foams by infiltration, using the replication process. The microstructure and the compressive mechanical behaviour of these foams are compared with those of similar foams made using commercial NaCl powders of less regular shape and size. It is found that, while the foam pore shape does not influence strongly the initial power-law behaviour of the foam, it causes variations in the strain at which the foam deviates from power-law behaviour.