Effects of sodium chloride on structure and compressive properties of foamed AZ91

The effects of additional sodium chloride particles on the structure and quasi-static compressive properties of open cell AZ91 alloy foams were studied using the infiltration method. Optimal variables, such as the particle size, preheating temperature, and pressure during formation, were obtained using experiments. Furthermore, the fragility and the resultant fracturing of the particles during foam formation were studied. The experimental results show that the physical characteristics of semi-fragile sodium chloride have a prominent effect on the pore structure formation and the compressive behavior of foamed AZ91. Thus, this work reveals that sodium chloride particles can be stabilized to effectively control the pore structure of foam alloys and produce improvements for use in various engineering applications.