Preparation of big size open-cell aluminum foam board using infiltration casting

This paper presents an infiltration casting technique for manufacturing big size open-cell aluminum foam boards. The principle and key technologies of infiltration casting are also analyzed. Based on the previous practice of the small size aluminum foam production, the die for preparing big size aluminum foam boards is designed and manufactured. The experiments on aluminum boards of 300 mm×300 mm×(20-75) mm, with the pore size ranging from 1.0 to 3.2 mm and average porosity of 60%, have been performed. The experimental results show that a reliable infiltration process depends critically on the pouring temperature of the molten AI-alloy, the preheated temperature of the mould and salt particles and vacuum. Current research explores the possibility of large-scale manufacturing and application of the aluminum foams.