Adapted equipment for aluminium foam production via liquid route

Aluminium foam have excellent combination of properties and are a great choice for applications where requires low density, toughness, thermal and acoustic insulation. Despite these characteristics this material is not widely industrially yet. To produce this material, in a similar 'Alporas' process a vertical furnace was adapted, assembling a mechanical system of agitation of the liquid, variable, and new temperature control system, which can work at temperatures near 700 deg C and mix in different speeds. Several samples using CaCO₃ as a foaming agent and a commercial aluminium were produced. The processing variable temperature, mixing time, aluminium amount and holding time were studied and the system proved reliable. The results were quantitated by morphology and distribution of pores and also the process efficiency. For the conditions evaluated, the best processing temperature was 750 deg C, 180 seconds mixing time and 300 seconds expansion time. (author)