Influencia del tamaño de porosidad esférica en la isotropía mediante ensayos de absorción de energía en espumas de aluminio de celda abierta.

Abstract

The main aim of this project was to analyse the influence of the spherical porosity size on the isotropy, through the application of energy absorption tests, applied to open-cell aluminium foams for three pore values, i.e. 3 mm, 4 mm and 5 mm in diameter. For the elaboration of the metallic aluminium foams, an experimental methodology was applied, since the infiltration process was used, which consisted of subjecting the preform with the solid aluminium to heat, and once the aluminium was melted, it began to be introduced inside the mould, which was previously filled with the spherical silica preform, thus creating the metallic foam. Subsequently, the efficiency of the specimens was analysed by subjecting them to impact and compression tests using the universal machine and the Charpy pendulum. The performance of the metallic foams was also studied by means of a comparative analysis of the results obtained for the different pore sizes and, finally, the image analysis revealed the structural homogeneity of the foams, concluding that there was a greater capacity for the absorption of impact and compression energy in specimens with larger pores. The isotropy for the 3 mm pore specimens was 56 %, for the 4 mm pore specimens it was 72 % and finally for the specimens with a pore diameter of 5 mm an isotropy of 83 % was obtained. For future research, it is recommended to carry out a detailed analysis to determine the optimum pore diameter, since this factor significantly influences the mechanical properties and toughness of the material.