Fabrication, Microstructure and Shear Properties of Al Foam Sandwich

Aluminum foam sandwich (AFS) structure materials have drawn much attention due to their unique structural and functional properties. However, the use of AFS materials as an attractive candidate for some applications was limited. In this work, AFS was fabricated by the brazing method, using Al-Si-based alloy, aluminum foam and steel plates as filler, matrix and panels, respectively. The microstructures of the soldered interfacial region, elemental distributions and phase identification were determined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The diffusion behavior of Si, Al, Fe and Cr was investigated. The effect of brazing time on the shear strengths of soldered joints was also analyzed. The results showed that the microstructures of joints were changed on increasing the brazing time. When the brazing time was 5 min, the solder started melting, which led to low shear strength. When increasing the brazing time to 10 min, the shear strength reached the peak value of 6.26 MPa due to the formation of a layer plate structure in the joints. When further increasing the brazing time, a number of Al/Fe intermetallic compound were formed in the joints, leading to a decrease of the shear strength due to the formation of brittle phase.