Establishment of process parameters for producing Al-foam by dissolution and powder sintering method

Al-foams have been manufactured by a dissolution and powder sintering process using crystalline raw cane sugar, as a novel leachable pattern. The method involves mixing and compaction, leaching and sintering processes. The influence of the process parameters on the microstructure of the produced foam is investigated in order to optimize the process conditions and produce high quality Al-foams. The differences between the actual and calculated porosity of the produced foam is ascribed to the joint effect of the retained porosity of the green product and the shrinkage during sintering. The optimum ranges of compaction pressure and sintering temperature are 250-300 MPa and 680-750 degrees C respectively. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.