Enhancement of mechanical properties of porous aluminum by silica sand particles

Porous aluminum was fabricated using space holder process. The spherical carbamide powder and silica sand were used as space holder and reinforcement materials, respectively. Aluminum powders were mixed with five different silica sand contents and were then mixed with 10 wt.% carbamide powder. The mixed powders were cold compression at 400 MPa and sintered at 550 °C for 5 hours. Microstructure of specimen was characterized by scanning electron microscope. Hardness and compressive strength were also investigated in this study. It was found that microstructure and mechanical properties of porous aluminum strongly depended on silica sand contents. From SEM observation, it is clearly seen that addition of silica sand led to increasing pore in the porous aluminum. Mechanical properties of porous aluminum can be enhanced by silica sand particle reinforced. (paper)