Open-cell Al foams were produced by the replication casting technique in three different pore sizes. All produced foams were physically characterized, determining their relative density, porosity, and pores per inch, as well as their mean pore surface area and diameter. Permeability tests were carried out by means of the injection of a highly pressurized gasoline additive at room temperature and 200 °C, at pressures of up to 25,000 psi. The structural capacity of the studied specimens to conduct fluids at these critical experimental conditions was assessed by means of compression tests in order to determine their mechanical properties after the permeability tests, e.g., energy absorption capacity, Young’s modulus, and plateau stress. It was found that the produced open-cell Al foams were able of conducting the gasoline additive at critical flow conditions of pressure and temperature, without suffering important physical nor structural damage.
Graphic abstract
Open-cell Al-4.5Cu (wt.%) foams were produced by the replication casting technique in cell sizes of 2.00–2.38 and 3.35–4.75 mm. The fabricated foams were subjected to solution and aging treatments to assess the effect of such heat treatments on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the foams as a function of cell size. Solution and aging heat treatments were carried out at 535 °C for 5.5 h and 170 °C for 8 h, respectively. The porosity and relative density of all produced samples were estimated by He pycnometer. In addition, the average cell wall thickness was assessed by image analysis to correlate this variable with the response to heat treatments of the material. The microstructural evolution of the heat-treated samples was analyzed by means of scanning electron microscopy, scanning transmission electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and differential scanning calorimetry. The mechanical characterization of the studied samples was carried out using uniaxial compression tests and microhardness tests. It was found that the foams did present different responses to both solution and aging treatments as a function of cell size, attributing these outcomes to the cell wall thickness variations, which presumably conditioned the cooling rates after heat treatments, thereby influencing the resulting microstructures and precipitation of Al-Cu second phases.
Graphical abstract
Open-cell aluminum foams were produced by the replication technique in three different pore sizes, ranging from 0.71 to 4.75 mm. The manufactured specimens were physically characterized, determining their porosity, relative density, pores per inch and interconnection windows density. A new experimental design is proposed in order to assess the drop of pressure behavior resulting from the injection of gasoline additive at increasing high pressure intervals, ranging from 200 to 25,000 psi, reproducing the tests at room temperature and 200 °C. The regime governing the flow through the investigated samples was determined as a function of flowrate and the foams physical properties. The structural capacity of open-cell Al foams to conduct highly pressurized flow was evaluated by means of compression tests. It was found that at room temperature, the drop of pressure behavior is strongly associated to physical parameters, whilst at 200 °C, dimensional and geometrical properties are negligible. In addition, in this investigation, it is presumed that the studied foams have the structural capacity to conduct fluids at critical conditions of pressure and temperature.
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