Title: Mechanical properties and surface characterisation of aluminium foam made of Al 6101 subjected to cryogenic treatment - a comparative study

Authors: Zeenath Fathima Syed; T.R. Tamilarasan; S. Rasool Mohideen; Milon Selvam Dennison

Addresses: Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Mechanical Sciences, B.S. Abdur Rahman Crescent Institute of Science & Technology, Chennai, Tamilnadu, India ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Mechanical Sciences, B.S. Abdur Rahman Crescent Institute of Science & Technology, Chennai, Tamilnadu, India ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Mechanical Sciences, B.S. Abdur Rahman Crescent Institute of Science & Technology, Chennai, Tamilnadu, India ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Engineering & Applied Sciences, Kampala International University (Western Campus), Ishaka, Uganda

Abstract: Aluminium alloy foams are highly utilised material because of their high ductility, low density, high thermal conductivity, and lesser cost. Cryogenics would be an unconventional methodology amongst the material fields for the improvement of mechanical properties. The cryogenic treatment of non-ferrous alloy foams will also produce more wear resistance and longer durability products. This research is to investigate the mechanical properties and microstructural characteristics of closed-cell aluminium foam made of Al 6101 aluminium alloy with different heat regimes namely heat treatment (HT), cryogenic treatment (CT), and cryogenic heat treatment (CHT). The experimental results reveal that the cryogenic treatment of Al 6101 foam decreases the elastic limit and leads to brittleness. A comparison of the stress-strain curve emphasises that the increase of brittleness in the CHT regime is due to the reduction of the elastic region and also the scanning electron microscopic (SEM) images prove that the cryogenic treatment changes the morphology of aluminium alloy foam.

Keywords: cryogenics; aluminium foam; heat treatment; cryogenic treatment; cryogenic heat treatment; CHT; characterisation; mechanical properties.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMATEI.2020.108884

International Journal of Materials Engineering Innovation, 2020 Vol.11 No.3, pp.244 - 263

Received: 10 Dec 2019
Accepted: 30 Jan 2020

Published online: 05 Aug 2020 *

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