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Development of the Al12SiCuFe Alloy Foam Composites with ZrSiO4 Reinforcements at Different Foaming Temperatures

Kumar, S and Kumar, S and Nagpal, PK and Gawade, SR and Salunkhe, S and Chandrasekhar, U and Davim, JP (2023) Development of the Al12SiCuFe Alloy Foam Composites with ZrSiO4 Reinforcements at Different Foaming Temperatures. In: Metals, 13 (4).

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Official URL: https://doi.org/10.3390/met13040685

Abstract

Lightweight aluminum composite is a class of foam material that finds many applications. These properties make it suitable for many industries, such as the transportation, aerospace and sports industries. In the present work, closed-cell foams of an Al-Si12CuFe alloy and its composite are developed by a stir casting process. The optimization of the foaming temperature for the alloy and composite foams was conducted in terms of the ligament and node size of the alloy and also the volatility of the zircon with the melt, to provide strength to the cell walls. CaCO3 as a blowing agent was homogeneously distributed in the molten metal without adding any thickener to develop the metal foam. The decomposition rate of CaCO3 is temperature-dependent, which is attributed to the formation of gas bubbles in the molten alloy. Cell structure, such as cell size and cell wall thickness, is controlled by manufacturing process parameters, and both the physical and mechanical properties are dependent on the foam cell structure, with cell size being the major variable. The results show that the increase in cell wall thickness with higher temperature leads to a decrease in cell size. By adding the zircon to the melt, the cell size of the composite foam first increases, and then the thickening of the wall occurs as the temperature is increased. The uniform distribution of the blowing agent in molten metal helps in the formation of a uniform cell structure. In this work, a comparative structural study of alloy foam and composite foam is presented regarding cell size, cell shape and foam stability at different temperatures. © 2023 by the authors.

Item Type: Journal Article
Publication: Metals
Publisher: MDPI
Additional Information: The copyright for this article belongs to the AuthorS.
Keywords: casting; cell structures; ceramics; high temperature; reinforcement; viscosity
Department/Centre: Division of Mechanical Sciences > Centre for Product Design & Manufacturing
Date Deposited: 14 Jun 2023 12:51
Last Modified: 14 Jun 2023 12:51
URI: https://eprints.iisc.ac.in/id/eprint/81907

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