Innovative User Defined Density Profile Approach To FSW Of Aluminium Foam

Metallic foams are one of the most exciting materials in the world of mechanical industry due to their reduced mass and the good mechanical, thermal and acoustic characteristics. Consequently, their application, is increasing day by day even with the important drawbacks that reduce their suitability and diffusion such as high manufacturing cost and difficulty in processing. An innovative approach is outlined in this paper that enables the production of complex shapes taking advantage of deformation processing and friction stir welding (FSW). The aim is to create customized tailored manufactured parts. The cellular construction of foams makes this approach rather challenging as the cell walls are extremely thin and deform unpredictably especially in the presence of rotating and moving hard tool. In this paper, an integrated approach to overcome some of the above challenges is proposed. The initial density is modified by using simple deformation processes, in order to obtained the desired "crushed density", customized for the intended application. Then, the panels are joined to specially designed solid blocks by using FSW process with a proper set-up. Finally, the obtained specimens are evaluated for mechanical performance and the quality of the joint..