Fabrication of AA356/SiCp Aluminum Composite Foam via In-Situ Foaming Route of Melt using CaCO3 Foaming Agent and an Investigation of its Compressive Properties

In this study, aluminium composite foams reinforced by different volume fractions of SiC particles as reinforcement and stabilizing agent were fabricated with the direct foaming route of melt using different contents of CaCO3 as foaming agent. The density of produced foams were measured to be from 0.38 to 0.68 g/cm3. The microstructural features and compressive properties of the AA356/SiCp composite foams were investigated. The relation between plateau stress, density and, weight percentage of CaCO3 and SiCp volume fraction with a given particle size was also investigated. The results showed that compressive stress-strain curves of the products were not smooth and exhibit some serrations. Also, it was shown that in the same density of composite foams, the plateau stress of the composite foams increases with increasing volume fraction of SiC particles and decreasing weight percentage of CaCO3.