Abstract
Synchrotron X-ray microtomography has been used for the three-dimensional characterization of microstructure in the cell walls of aluminum foams. A combination of high-resolution phase contrast imaging technique and several application techniques has enabled the quantitative image analyses of microstructures as well as the assessment of their effects on deformation behaviors. The application techniques include local area tomography, microstructural gauging and in-situ observation using a specially designed material test rig. It has been clarified that ductile buckling of a cell wall occurs regardless of any of the microstructural factors in the case of a pure aluminum foam, while rather brittle fracture of a cell wall is induced by the existence of coarse micropores and their distribution independently of the intermetallic particles and the grain boundary in the case of aluminum foams alloyed with Zn and Mg. It has also been confirmed that coarse TiH2 particles, which are a residual foaming agent added to alloy melts, remain intact during the deformation. When cooling rate during foaming is high, however, lower energy absorption might be attributable to the significant amount of residual TiH2 particle and its inhomogeneous distribution. These tendencies are also confirmed by three-dimensional strain mapping by tracking internal microstructural features.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
M.F. Ashby, A. Evans, N.A. Fleck, L.J. Gibson, J.W. Hutchinson, and H.N.G. Wadley: Metal Foams, Butterwirth-Heinemann, Woburn, MA, 2000, Chapter 4, pp. 40–54.
L.J. Gibson and M.F. Ashby: Cellular Solids, Pergamon Press, Oxford, U.K., 1988.
E. Maire, A. Fazekas, L. Salvo, R. Dendievel, S. Youssef, P. Cloetens, and J.M. Letang: Composites Science and Technology, 2003, vol. 63, pp. 2431–43.
T.G. Nieh, K. Higashi, and J. Wadsworth: Mater. Sci. Engineering, 2000, vol. A283, pp. 105–10.
Y. Sugimura, J. Meyer, M.Y. He, H. Bart-Smith, J. Grenestedt, and A.G. Evans: Acta Mater., 1997, vol. 45, pp. 5245–59.
R. Gradinger and F.G. Rammerstorfer: Acta Mater., 1999, vol. 47, pp. 143–48.
U. Ramamurty and A. Paul: Acta Mater., 2004, vol. 52, pp. 869–76.
A.E. Simone and L.J. Gibson: Acta Mater., 1998, vol. 46, pp. 3929–35.
A.-F. Bastawros and A.G. Evans: Metal Foams and Porous Metal Structures, MIT-Verlag, Bremen, Germany, 1999, pp. 221–26.
W. Sanders and L.J. Gibson: in Porous and Cellular Materials for Structural, D.S. Schwartz, D.S. Shih, A.G. Evans and H.N.G. Wadley, eds., Materials Research Society, San Francisco, 1998, pp. 53–57.
NEDO: Interim Report of the NEDO project “Production & Fabrication Technology Development of Aluminum Useful for Automobile Lightweighting,”. NEDO, Kawasaki, Japan, 2004 [in Japanese].
U. Mosler, A. Muller, H. Baum, U. Martin, and H. Oettel: in Cellular Metals and Metal Forming Technology, J. Bahnhart, M.F. Ashby and N.A. Fleck, eds., MIT-Verlag, Bremen, Germany, 2001, pp. 233–38.
C.S. Marchi, J.-F. Despois, and A. Mortensen: Acta Mater., 2004, vol. 52, pp. 2895–902.
E. Maire, A. Elmoutaouakkil, A. Fazekas, and L. Salvo: ESRF Highlights, ESRF, Grenoble, France, 2003.
L. Salvo, P. Clotens, E. Maire, S. Zabler, J.J. Blandin, J.Y. Biffiere, W. Ludwig, E. Boller, D. Bellet, and C. Josserond: Nucl. Instr. Meth. Phys. Res, 2003, vol. B200, pp. 273–86.
T.G. Nieh, J.H. Kenney, and J. Wadsworth: Scripta Mater., 1998, vol. 38, pp. 1487–94.
E. Maire, J.Y. Buffiere, L. Salvo, J.J. Blandin, W. Ludwig, and J.M. Letang: Adv. Engineering Mater., 2001, vol. 3, pp. 539–46.
E. Jasiuniene, J. Goebbels, B. Illerhaus, P. Lowe, and A. Kottar: in Cellular Metals and Metal Forming Technology, J. Bahnhart, M.F. Ashby, and N.A. Fleck, eds., MIT-Verlag, Bremen, Germany, 2001, pp. 251–54.
A. Faridani, K.A. Buglione, P. Huabsomboon, O.D. Iancu, and J. McGrath: Contemp. Math., 2001, vol. 278, pp. 1–19.
H. Toda, I. Sinclair, J.-Y. Buffière, E. Maire, T. Connolley, M. Joyce, K.H. Khor, and P.J. Gregson: Philos. Mag., 2003, vol. A83, pp. 2429–48.
H. Toda, I. Sinclair, J.-Y. Buffière, E. Maire, K.H. Khor, P. Gregson, and T. Kobayashi: Acta Mater., 2004, vol. 52, pp. 1305–17.
J. Ahn, H. Toda, M. Niinomi, and T. Kobayashi: Review of Progress in Quantitative NDE, 2005, vol. 24, pp. 1423–30.
T. Miyoshi, M. Itoh, S. Akiyama, and A. Kitahara: Adv. Engineering Mater., 2000, vol. 2, pp. 179–83.
G.T. Herman: Image Reconstruction from Projections, The Fundamentals of Computerized Tomography, Academic Press, Orland, 1980.
P. Cloetens, M. Pateyron-Salome, J.-Y. Buffière, G. Peix, J. Baruchel, F. Peyrin, and M. Schlenker: J. Appl. Phys., 1997, vol. 1, pp. 5878–86.
S. Youssef, E. Maire, and R. Gaertner: Acta Mater., 2005, vol. 53, pp. 719–30.
W.E. Lorensen and H.E. Cline: Comput. Graph. (ACM), 1987, vol. 21, pp. 163–69.
H. Toda, T. Ohgaki, K. Uesugi, K. Makii, Y. Aruga, T. Akahori, M. Niinomi, and T. Kobayashi: Key Engineering Mater., 2005, vol. 297–300, pp. 1189–95.
U. Mosler, A. Müller, H. Baum, U. Martin, and H. Oettel: Cellular Metals and Metal Forming Technology. MIT-Verlag, Bremen, Germany, 2001, pp. 233–38.
H. Toda, T. Kobayashi, and A. Takahashi: Aluminum Trans., 1999, vol. 1, pp. 109–16.
H. Toda and T. Kobayashi: Metall. Trans. A, 1997, vol. 28A, pp. 2149–57.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Toda, H., Kobayashi, T., Niinomi, M. et al. Quantitative assessment of microstructure and its effects on compression behavior of aluminum foams via high-resolution synchrotron X-ray tomography. Metall Mater Trans A 37, 1211–1219 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11661-006-1072-0
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11661-006-1072-0