Journal of Materials Processing Technology 210 (2010) 1203–1208

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Journal of Materials Processing Technology

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jmatprotec

Fabrication of aluminium foams from powder by hot extrusion and foaming

M. Shiomi a,∗ , S. Imagama b , K. Osakada b , R. Matsumoto b
a
Faculty of Global Engineering, Kogakuin University, Inume, Hachioji, Tokyo 193-0802, Japan
b
Graduate School of Engineering Science, Osaka University, Machikaneyama, Toyonaka, Osaka 560-8531, Japan

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: In order to produce aluminium foams for light-weight and energy absorbing structures of automobiles,
Received 12 December 2009 a method for fabricating aluminium foam from powder mixed with a foaming agent by using a mould
Received in revised form 1 March 2010 is proposed. The method consists of four sequential processes: powder compacting, extruding, foaming
Accepted 6 March 2010
and moulding. In the experiment for fabricating aluminium foam from powder, the conditions of powder
extrusion and foaming by the heated die are determined from the density of the aluminium foams made
without a mould. The experimental results show that the relative density of the aluminium foam made
Keywords:
under appropriate conditions is 0.22. In moulding of aluminium foam, a stainless steel pipe is used as a
Light-weight structure
Metal foam
mould and the cylindrical aluminium foam is produced by filling into the pipe mould. The distribution
Porous aluminium of relative density within the aluminium foam bar is in a range of 0.2–0.3 by rapid cooling of the pipe.
Moulding To examine the ratio of deformation energy to weight of the pipe including the aluminium foam, a
Energy absorption compression test using a press is carried out. The deformation energy of the pipe can be increased with
aluminium foam filled by the proposed method.
© 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction of aluminium foam are continuously fabricated by drawing out

Metal foams have plenty of pores inside and their density is
much lower than the solid one. Their cellular structure causes to
show unique features, such as energy absorbing capacity, ther-
mal properties and sound absorbing properties. The manufacture,
properties and applications of metal foams have been reviewed
by Banhart (2001), Davies and Zhen (1983). Ashby et al. (2000)
have shown a design guide for metal foams. These features are
very attractive in transport industries (Baumeister et al., 1997),
and prospective applications of metal foams to automobiles (Ito
and Kobayashi, 2005), aeroplanes and railway cars (Rausch and
Stöbener, 2005) have been presented.
Many fabricating processes of metal foams have been devel-
oped since a forming process of porous aluminium was proposed
by Sosnick (1948). Among them, the practical processes for pro-
ducing metal foams are classified into two routes: melt route and
powder metallurgy route. In melt route, molten metal expands and
is formed to foam by adding a blowing agent or injecting bub-
bles of gas directly. Aluminium foams were made from the melt
by adding a foaming agent such as titanium hydride and zirco-
nium hydride by Elliott (1956). Blocks of aluminium foam with
a regular shape are commercially manufactured in batch opera-
tions (Akiyama et al., 1988), and the mechanical properties of the
produced foams are presented by Miyoshi et al. (2000). Sheets
∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +81 042 628 2429; fax: +81 042 628 2429.
E-mail address: shiomi@cc.kogakuin.ac.jp (M. Shiomi).
from the surface of the molten metal injected bubbles of gas (Jin
et al., 1990). By utilising the distinction of hydrogen solubility
between liquid and solid metals, porous metals with elongated
pore structure, so-called lotus meal, are fabricated by unidirectional
solidification (Shapovalov, 1993), of which the mechanical proper-
ties show anisotropic behaviour (Hyun et al., 2001). The melt route
is suitable for mass production of metal foams with a simple shape.
In powder metallurgy route, metallic powder is mixed with a
blowing agent and it is compacted to form a foamable precursor.
Then the precursor is heated and formed to foam in a furnace (Allen
and Sabroff, 1963). The advantage of this route is that the precursor
can expand in a heated mould and the foam with a complicated
shape can be made by mould filling (Baumgärtner et al., 2000).
The precursor should be carefully produced because residual open
porosities or other defects lead to poor results in the following
processes (Banhart, 2005). Although the precursor is made from
powder by iso-static compression, extrusion or rolling, Kitazono
et al. (2004) have proposed a method for making a precursor
from steel sheets stacking a blowing agent by using a roll-bonding
technique. Hangai and Utsunomiya (2009) have used friction stir
processing (FSP) to fabricate a precursor with mixing blowing agent
powder and stabilization powder into aluminium plates. Pow-
der metallurgy route requires preparation of precursor to produce
foams. It is desirable to produce metal foams from powder in a
short-time process for manufacturing of automotive parts.
In this paper, a method for fabricating aluminium foams from
powder including a foaming agent is proposed for light-weight
structures of automobiles. Aluminium powder mixed with a blow-

0924-0136/$ – see front matter © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.jmatprotec.2010.03.006
1204 M. Shiomi et al. / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 210 (2010) 1203–1208

Fig. 2. Die for foaming of aluminium compact extruded from container.

Fig. 1. Experimental equipment for hot powder extrusion and moulding of alu-
minium foam.

ing agent is heated and extruded into a mould through the heated
die, and the extruded aluminium expands and is formed in a
sequential process with an apparatus. The cylindrical aluminium
foam is produced by the proposed method, and the distribution of
the relative density and the deformation energy of the foam are
measured.

2. Hot powder extrusion and foaming

Fig. 3. Mould with heating and cooling system for forming of aluminium foam.
Fig. 1 shows the experimental equipment for fabricating alu-
minium foams from powder. The equipment consists of two parts:
Table 1
hot powder extrusion on the left side and moulding of foam on the Experimental conditions for hot powder extrusion and foaming.
right side. Aluminium powder (A6061) mixed with TiH2 powder
Aluminium powder A6061
as a foaming agent is poured into the container of the hot powder
Foaming agent TiH2
extrusion and is compacted in a room temperature at a pressure Temperature of container (◦ C) 420
of 100 MPa. The container is heated to 420 ◦ C for hot extrusion of Extrusion ratio 3.3
aluminium, and then the aluminium powder with TiH2 powder is Punch speed (mm/s) 0.20, 0.30, 0.45, 0.60
extruded into the heated die for foaming of the aluminium compact. Forming speed  (mm/s) 0.66, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0
Punch stroke (mm) 15
In the moulding part of aluminium foam, the die for foaming of the
Die temperature Tdie (◦ C) 720, 760
compact extruded from the container is heated to a temperature
higher than the liquidus point (652 ◦ C) of the aluminium alloy. The
extruded aluminium compact goes into the heated die and starts (ceramics fibre). The copper pipe has a hole of 10 mm in diame-
foaming in the vicinity of the die exit. Then, the aluminium foam is ter at the centre, and the pipe mould is heated with the heater
filled into the mould heated with an electric heater. and is cooled by blowing air from the hole of the copper pipe into
The container of hot powder extrusion is equipped with electric the space between the heater around the mould and the copper
heaters of band type (375 W) and stick type (400, 500 W). The tem- pipe. The temperature of the mould is measured with thermo-
perature of the container is measured on the surface and controlled couples at four points: 10, 40, 60 and 90 mm from the inlet of the
to 420 ◦ C. The inlet and outlet diameters of the container are 30 and mould.
16.5 mm, respectively, so that the extrusion ratio is 3.3. The relative Table 1 shows the experimental conditions for hot powder
density of the aluminium compact reaches more than 0.99. extrusion and foaming. The chemical compositions of the alu-
The die for foaming of the aluminium compact including a foam- minium alloy (A6061) are shown in Table 2. Since TiH2 powder used
ing agent is shown in Fig. 2. The length of the die is 93 mm, and as a foaming agent tended to start decomposing at around 480 ◦ C
the inner diameter of the die changes from 17 mm in the inlet to (Kennedy, 2002), the hot extrusion of aluminium powder includ-
16 mm in the exit at a point of 28 mm from the exit, because the ing TiH2 of 1 mass% was carried out at 420 ◦ C. The punch speed was
compact is heated to a temperature higher than the liquidus point varied in a range of 0.2–0.6 mm/s, and the forming speed , that was
for expansion due to heat conduction from the heated die. The IH a speed of the aluminium compact going through the die without
coil is located around the die and used to heat. The temperature foaming, changed from 0.66 to 2 mm/s because of the extrusion
of the die is measured at a point of 8 mm from the exit, and it is ratio of 3.3. The experiments of hot extrusion and foaming from
controlled during the process.
Fig. 3 shows the details of the mould where aluminium foam Table 2
is filled in. A stainless steel pipe is used as a mould in the experi- Chemical compositions of aluminium powder (A6061) (mass%).
ment, and the dimensions of the pipe are 25 mm in inner diameter, Mg Si Cu Fe Cr Al
100 mm in length and 1.5 mm in thickness. The pipe mould is cov-
1.04 0.61 0.28 0.23 0.21 Bal.
ered with a line heater of 1000 W, a copper pipe and a heat insulator
 M. Shiomi et al. / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 210 (2010) 1203–1208 1205

Fig. 4. Cross-sectional shape of aluminium foam extruded on open mould.

powder were carried out at 720 and 760 ◦ C of the temperature of

the die. MoS2 and carbon lubricants were used for the hot powder
extrusion.

3. Fabrication of aluminium foam from powder

Before moulding, the aluminium foam was produced on a hemi-

cylindrical pipe, and the relative density of the aluminium foam was
measured so as to obtain appropriate conditions for fabricating alu-
minium foam. In the experiment, the aluminium powder including
TiH2 was extruded into the die of a room temperature as an initial
condition. After the die was heated to a target temperature with
the induction heater in a couple of minutes, the aluminium com-
pact was extruded through the heated die and the aluminium foam
was made on the open pipe.
Fig. 4 shows the cross-sectional shapes of the aluminium foams
extruded on the open pipe. When the temperature of the heated
die, Tdie , is 760 ◦ C and the forming speed, , is 1.0 mm/s, there are
some large-sized cells in the foam. The size of the cell becomes small
as the forming speed increases to 1.5 mm/s or the temperature of
the die decreases to 720 ◦ C. It may be said that aluminium foam
with small-sized cells is obtained under the appropriate conditions
of the die temperature and the forming speed. The front part of
the foam made at the first stage of extrusion shows high density.
The front part of the foam was in the vicinity of the die exit before
foaming. It is considered that the compact in the die was not heated
enough for expansion at the first stage of extrusion. The insufficient
heating of the front part of the compact in the die, however, can be
avoided in manufacturing process because aluminium foams can
be sequentially produced by changing the mould and aluminium
foam already exists in the die at the next moulding.
The relationship between the relative density of the aluminium
foams and the forming speed for deferent temperatures of the die
is shown in Fig. 5. In both the cases of the die temperature, the
aluminium foam shows high density at low speed area. The den-
sity of the foam goes down and up as the forming speed increases.
When the forming speed is low, the extruded aluminium compact
is heated enough to high temperature in the heated die. After the
foam of high temperature is extruded into the mould, the gas (H2 )
within the aluminium foam goes out during cooling in air. On the
other hand, when the forming speed is high, the aluminium com-
Fig. 5. Relationship between relative density of aluminium foam and forming speed
for different die temperature.
pact is not heated enough for expansion in the die and the density
becomes high. The aluminium foam, of which the relative density is
0.22, can be obtained from powder by the proposed method when
the forming speed is 1.5 mm/s and the temperature of the die for
foaming of aluminium compact is 760 ◦ C. Those conditions are used
for the experiments of moulding the aluminium foam.
4. Moulding of aluminium foam
To confirm the moulding of aluminium foam, the aluminium
foam is filled into a pipe mould for simple shape forming. Table 3
shows the experimental conditions of extrusion and moulding. The
conditions for extruding the aluminium foams from the die were
the same as those where the lightest foams were obtained on the
open pipe. The punch stroke of 18 mm was determined from the
volume calculation, in which the solid aluminium extruded from
the die would expand and fill into the mould, and the relative den-
sity of aluminium foam would be 0.25. The pipe mould was heated
for 1200 s to be a constant temperature before moulding. In the
experimental processes, the aluminium powder with a foaming
agent was poured into the container and extruded into the die. The
die was heated to a temperature higher than the liquidus point of
1206 M. Shiomi et al. / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 210 (2010) 1203–1208

Table 3
Experimental conditions of extrusion and moulding of
aluminium foam.

Aluminium powder A6061

Foaming agent TiH2
Container temperature (◦ C) 420
Punch speed (mm/s) 0.45
Forming speed (mm/s) 1.5
Extrusion ratio 3.3
Punch stroke (mm) 18
Heating time of mould (s) 1200

the aluminium alloy, and the overflow of aluminium foam from the
heated die due to expansion was removed. Then, the pipe mould
was attached to the cooled die and heated again for moulding. After
the preparation, the experiment for moulding the aluminium foam
into the pipe mould was carried out.
Fig. 6 shows the temperature history of the mould from the
beginning of moulding. The temperatures on the mould surface at
10, 40 and 60 mm from the mould inlet increase during forming,
because the aluminium foam touches the mould step by step. The Fig. 7. Cross-sectional shape of aluminium foam moulded into pipe for different
aluminium foam reaches the mould surface at 90 mm from the inlet solidification time.
after moulding because the surface temperature at 90 mm indi-
cated by the line (d) increases after moulding. Although the punch
foam around the mould inlet is condensed. The density of the foams
in hot powder extrusion was stopped at the end of forming, the
is in a wide range, though the relative density of the whole foam is
extruding of the foam from the die was not stopped immediately
0.26. It is important to control the temperature of the mould and
due to foaming. The mould is cooled after forming and the foam is
the die for the density distribution of the moulded foam. To obtain
converted to its solid state. The solidification time is defined by the
more uniform cell size of the foam, the aluminium foam should be
period from the end of forming to the time when the temperature
cooled rapidly after forming.
of the mould surface reaches the solidus line of the aluminium alloy
To measure the density distribution within the aluminium
(572 ◦ C).
foams, the foams are cut at every 20 mm from the end in the lon-
The cross-sectional shapes of the aluminium foams moulded in
gitudinal direction and the densities are obtained by Archimedes
the pipe for different solidification time are shown in Fig. 7. When
method. Fig. 8 shows the density distribution of the foam produced
the solidification time is 40 s that is the minimum time for the
directly from powder for different solidification time. The mea-
experimental equipment, the aluminium foam is filled in the pipe
sured densities are plotted at the centre position of the cut portion.
and overflowed from the pipe end. The relative density of the whole
When the solidification time is 125 s, the density at the centre of
foam is 0.24, and the range of the cell size is not large. In the case
the foam is very low. On the other hand the densities at the end
of solidification time of 125 s when the aluminium foam is cooled
parts are very high because of the gas leak and the condensation
naturally without blowing air, the cell size at the centre part of the
of the overflowed foam. In the case of the shortest solidification
foam becomes larger than that at the other parts due to coalescence.
time: 40 s, the density of the foam is in a range of 0.2–0.3, and
The centre part of the mould is not cooled quickly because of the
the average relative density is 0.24. The density distribution within
heat insulator around the mould. The end part of the foam is con-
the foam fabricated by rapid cooling becomes more uniform than
densed at the mould inlet. Although the punch stops pushing the
that by natural cooling. It is considered that the high cooling speed
powder in the container of hot powder extrusion, foaming of the
after forming is important to mould the aluminium foam with a
aluminium compact in the die does not stop at the same time. The
small range of density distribution within the foam. It is necessary
aluminium compact in the die still expands after forming and the
to control the temperature of the mould to successful moulding of
aluminium foams.

Fig. 6. History of mould temperature from moulding of aluminium foam into pipe
(Tdie = 760 ◦ C and  = 1.5 mm/s, solidification time: 70 s). Fig. 8. Density distribution within aluminium foam made by pipe moulding.
 M. Shiomi et al. / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 210 (2010) 1203–1208
Fig. 9. Test piece for compression test.
5. Compression test
Aluminium foam inserted pipes are fabricated by the pro-
posed method, and the energy absorbing capacity of the pipe
including aluminium foam is examined by a compression test.
Fig. 9 shows the test pieces for the compression test. The pipe
including aluminium foam was fabricated by moulding of the alu-
minium foam into the pipe under the moulding conditions in
which the solidification time was 40 s and the relative density
of the foam was 0.24. To compare with the absorbing capacity
of the pipe including aluminium foam, the pipe without foam
and the aluminium foam billet made by the proposed method
were also compressed. A stainless steel (SUS304) pipe of 30 mm
in outer diameter and 1.5 mm in thickness was used. The height
of the test pieces was 40 mm. The test pieces were compressed
with flat tools, and a mechanical press was used for the test.
The initial strain-rate was 4.75 1/s, and the reduction in height
was 62.5%. The compression test was carried out with no lubri-
cant.
The relationship between the stress and the strain in compres-
sion test is shown in Fig. 10. The pipe including the aluminium foam
indicated by the line (a) shows high compression stress at first,
and then the stress goes down steeply. After the strain exceeds 0.5,
the stress increases during compressing. The pipe without foam,
the line (b), also shows the same tendency of compression stress
as that of the pipe with the aluminium foam, though the stress is
lower than that of the pipe with the aluminium foam. The com-
pression stress of the aluminium foam, the line (c), is the smallest
among them and it increases gradually during compressing. To con-
firm the difference of the compression stresses between the pipes
with and without the aluminium foam, the sum of the compressive
stress values of the pipe, the line (b), and the aluminium foam, the
Fig. 10. Relationship between stress and strain in compression test.
1207
line (c), at every strain is calculated and indicated by the doted line
(d). The compression stress of the pipe with the aluminium foam
is larger than that of the pipe and the aluminium foam billet as it is
known (Seitzberger et al., 1997).
To evaluate the energy absorbing capacity of the pipe including
the aluminium foam, the ratio of deformation energy to weight in
compression test is calculated from the weight and the stress multi-
plied by the corresponding strain till a strain of 0.5. The deformation
energy of the pipe including the aluminium foam is 17.6 J/kg, while
the deformation energy of the pipe only is 15.4 J/kg. It may be said
that the deformation energy of pipe can be increased with alu-
minium foam filled by the proposed method, in which a bonding
process between the aluminium foam and the pipe is not carried
out in particular.
6. Conclusions
In order to produce aluminium foams directly from powder for
automotive parts, the combined process of hot powder extrusion
and foaming was proposed. The A6061 aluminium powder mixed
with TiH2 powder as a foaming agent was extruded into the die
heated to a temperature higher than the melting point and the
aluminium foam was made. The relative density of the aluminium
foam was 0.22. The moulding of the aluminium foam into the pipe
was carried out and the cylindrical aluminium foam was obtained.
The distribution of relative density within the aluminium foam
moulded into the pipe was in a range of 0.2–0.3. The energy absorb-
ing capacity of the pipe increased with the aluminium foam filled
by the proposed method.
Acknowledgments
A part of this research work was supported by the SUZUKI Foun-
dation for the development of forming process of aluminium foams.
M. Shiomi would like to express his thanks to Dr. S. Ishizuka and
Dr. H. Kaneda, Suzuki Motor Corp., for their advices to the research
work.
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