Aluminium Foam Sandwich Panels: Manufacture, Metallurgy and Applications

Sandwich panels consisting of a highly porous aluminium foam core and aluminium alloy face sheets are manufactured by roll-bonding aluminium alloy sheets to a densified mixture of metal powders usually Al-Si or Al-Si-Cu alloys with 6-8% Si and 3-10% Cu - and titanium hydride, and foaming the resulting three-layer structure by a thermal treatment. We review the various processing steps of aluminium foam sandwich (AFS) and the metallurgical processes during foaming, compare the process to alternative ways to manufacture AFS, e.g. by adhesive bonding, and give an overview of the available literature. Two ways to treat AFS after foaming are presented, namely forging and age-hardening. Some current and potential applications are described and the market potential of AFS is assessed.