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Influence of Cu, Zn and Si alloying elements on Al alloy foams produced using Mg blowing agent

  • Metals & corrosion
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Abstract

The main focus of the present study is to compare the effect of different alloying elements on Al–Mg alloy foams. Al–Mg15–X10 (X = Cu, Zn and Si) alloy foams were produced via powder metallurgy route by using Mg as a blowing agent. Macro- and microstructural characterisations of the foams were performed using X-ray tomography, X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscope. Corrosion studies such as weight loss measurement, hydrogen evolution method and potentiodynamic test were conducted. Mechanical properties were evaluated by subjecting the samples to quasi-static compression and microhardness tests. All the alloy foams showed a comparable structure. The Cu-containing foams exhibited the highest strength, while the Zn-containing foams showed the highest expansion. However, the other properties such as brittleness, elastic modulus and burning nature were found to be better for the Si-containing foams.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to Arul Kumar Ganapathi and Kallem Shekar Reddy for their support during corrosion tests and thankful to Shaik Jubeda Begum for helping in image analysis. The first and the last authors would like to thank the Naval Research Board of Defence Research and Development Organization, India, for providing partial funding for this study (Project Number NRB-371/MAT/15-16).

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  1. Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, 600036, India

    K. Georgy, Lakshman Neelakantan, K. C. Hari Kumar & M. Mukherjee

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Georgy, K., Neelakantan, L., Kumar, K.C.H. et al. Influence of Cu, Zn and Si alloying elements on Al alloy foams produced using Mg blowing agent. J Mater Sci 56, 2612–2630 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-020-05381-0

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