HighlightsLow pressure infiltration is suitable to produce MMSFs with hollow iron spheres.The MMSFs showed plastic yielding and long, slowly ascending plateau region.The matrix and the heat treatment strongly influence the properties of the MMSFs.The full-scale FEM model gives excellent agreement compared to the measured values. Highlights (for review) *Manuscript Click here to view linked References AbstractAluminium alloy syntactic foams reinforced with iron hollow spheres were produced by low pressure, liquid phase inert gas infiltration technique. Four Al alloys (Al99.5, AlSi12, AlMgSi1 and AlCu5) and Globomet grade iron hollow spheres were used as matrix and reinforcing material, respectively. The produced composite blocks were characterised according to the ruling standard for compression of cellular materials in order to ensure full comparability. The compressive test results showed plastic yielding and a long, slowly ascending plateau region that ensures large energy absorption capability. The proper selection of the matrix material and the applied heat treatment allows for a wide range of tailoring of the mechanical properties. For design purposes, the full-scale finite element method (FEM) model of the investigated foams was created and tested on Al99.5 matrix foams. The FEM results showed very good agreement with the measured values (typically within 5% in the characteristic properties and within 10% for the whole compression curve).

Iron hollow sphere filled aluminum matrix syntactic foams (AMSFs) were produced by low pressure, inert gas assisted infiltration. The microstructure of the produced AMSFs was investigated by light and electron microscopy, extended by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and electron back-scattered diffraction. The investigations revealed almost perfect infiltration and a slight gradient in the grain size of the matrix. A very thin interface layer that ensures good bonding between the hollow spheres and the matrix was also observed. Compression tests were performed on cylindrical specimens to explore the characteristic mechanical properties of the AMSFs. Compared to other (conventional) metallic foams, the investigated AMSFs proved to have outstanding mechanical properties (yield strength, plateau strength, etc.) and energy absorbing capability.

Aluminum alloy matrix syntactic foams were produced by inert gas pressure infiltration. Four different alloys and ceramic hollow spheres were applied as matrix and filler material, respectively. The effects of the chemical composition of the matrix and the different heattreatments are reported at different strain-rates and in compressive loadings. The higher strain rates were performed in a Split-Hopkinson pressure bar system. The results show that, the characteristic properties of the materials strongly depends on the chemical composition of the matrix and its heat-treatment condition. The compressive strength of the investigated foams showed a limited sensitivity to the strain rate, its effect was more pronounced in the case of the structural stiffness and fracture strain. The failure modes of the foams have explicit differences showing barreling and shearing in the case of quasi-static and high strain rate compression respectively.

Al99.5 and AlSi12 matrix syntactic foams were produced by pressure infiltration of Globocer grade ceramic hollow spheres. The produced aluminium matrix syntactic foams (AMSFs) were investigated by compressive tests, dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), finite element methods (DMA) and elasticity based analytical calculations. The aim of the investigations was (i) to map the compressive properties of the AMSFs, (ii) to determine and compare the effective Young's modulus of the AMSFs determined by compressive tests, DMA, FEM and analytical calculations and (iii) to determine the low frequency damping capability of the AMSFs. The compressive tests showed pronounced differences between the two matrix materials, characterized by higher compressive strength, compressive strain and absorbed mechanical energy in the case of AlSi12 matrix, however, the energy absorption efficiency due to the different failure mechanism of AMSFs (homogeneous densification in the case of Al99.5 and cleavage in the case of AlSi12 matrix, respectively). The DMA tests confirmed the effective Young's moduli values, measured by compression and proved higher damping capability in the case of AlSi12 matrix. FEM and analytical calculations also confirmed the measured effective Young's moduli within a reasonable error band.

The effective Young's modulus of aluminium matrix syntactic foams was determined by modal analysis. Two different matrix materials (Al99.5 and AlSi12) were used, and they were reinforced by Globocer grade ceramic hollow spheres. In order to validate the results, a full-scale finite element model was also created. A new algorithm was developed to place the spheres in a proper, probabilistic spatial distribution. Finite element simulations were carried out in modal analysis and compression test senses. In addition, three different analytical methods were studied to estimate the effective Young's modulus. The measured values were compared with the finite element and analytical results. The determined effective Young's moduli showed good agreement. This paper is part of a thematic issue on Light Alloys.