Experimental fabrication and compression analysis characterization of LM30 Al alloy foam with 5wt% SiCp at room temperature

Composite foam of aluminium alloy (LM30) is prepared by reinforcing the foam with 5 wt% of SiC particles, through Melt-stir processing route. The deformation and energy absorption characteristic of this composite foam is studied experimentally, under the application of axial compressive forces on the foam. The experimental results show that the composite foam has improved energy absorption properties because of higher plateau stress and specific energy absorption rate per unit volume. A new approach for utilizing optimization techniques such as Taguchi & ANOVA method, is performed for a better understanding of the effects of mass, density, relative density, pore size and strain rate on the plateau stress and specific energy absorption ability of the foam. Taguchi method is used for determining the optimizing parameters of plateau stress and specific energy absorption ability of the foam. ANOVA and Signal to Noise ratio are utilized for determining the contribution of each optimizing parameters on the results of plateau stress and specific energy absorption ability. Later the microstructure, crystal structure and phase analysis of composite foam samples are characterized by FE-SEM, EDX, XRD and FTIR respectively for perceptive superior analysis.