Improved Stability of Aluminum Foam Through Heat Treatment of Foamable Precursor

Foam stability, characterized by the dynamics of foam expansion and decay, is essential for producing aluminum foam. While, the stability is often difficult to control. In present study, the heat treatment of foamable precursor was applied to improve the foam stability via the powder route. Interestingly, both process of foam expansion and decay were remarkably slow down after heat treatment. The time to achieve peak expansion was prolonged to 2.38 times, and the time span from peak expansion to obvious drainage and collapse happening increased to 6 times. The enhanced stability is thought to relate to the oxide-flakes on the cell face caused by heat treatment.