Effects of thermomechanical processing on the resulting mechanical properties of 6101 aluminum foam

High porosity aluminum was fabricated in a number of ways. The starting material was a cast 6101 aluminum that had a relative density of 9.8%. The cast aluminum block was compressed by uniaxial, biaxial, and triaxial densification. Uniaxial compression was done at room temperature and 200 degrees C. Biaxial compression was achieved by unidirectional rolling at room temperature and 200 degrees C. Triaxial compression was done by cold isostatic pressing at 3.4, 6.7, and 34 MPa (0.5, 1.0, and 5.0 ksi). Metallography and mechanical test specimens were machined from the processed bars. The mechanical properties showed that the relative yield strength depended both on relative density and processing temperature.