Manufacturing of aluminum foam sandwich panels: comparison of a novel method with two different conventional methods

Abstract

In this study, a novel method for manufacturing metal foam sandwich panels via self-propagating high temperature synthesis (SHS) has been introduced. In this method, a powder mixture of metallic aluminum and copper oxide was placed in core—sheet interface, and then sandwich panel was heated under static pressure. During heating, SHS reaction (3CuO + 2Al = + 3Cu, ΔH < 0) occurred in the interface. The generated heat from this exothermic reaction caused sheets to join the core by melting the interface and nearby. In order to evaluate the shear strength of the interface, the shear test was applied to the manufactured sandwich panels and its results were compared with sandwich panels, which were produced by diffusion and adhesive bonding processes. Furthermore, by the aid of energy dispersive spectrometer and X-ray diffraction analyses, the formation of copper in the core—sheet interface and its diffusion into the sheets and the core were investigated. The results showed that metal foam sandwich panels produced by using SHS method have higher joint strength than those produced by diffusion and adhesive bonding processes, and the maximum shear strength of the interface was achieved in shorter heating time. Significantly, this innovating method for manufacturing metal foam sandwich panels can be applied as a proper and alternative method.