Synthesis and Compressive Response of Microcellular Foams Fabricated from Thermally Expandable Microspheres

Cellular foams are widely applied as protective and energy absorption materials in both civil and military fields. A facile and simple one-step heating method to fabricate polymeric foams is measured by adopting thermally expandable microspheres(TEMs). The ideal foaming parameters for various density foams were determined. Moreover, a mechanical testing machine and split Hopkinson bar(SHPB) were utilized to explore the quasi-static and dynamic compressive properties. Results showed that the cell sizes of the as-prepared TEMs foams were in the micrometer range of 11 μm to 20 μm with a uniform cell size distribution. All the foams exhibited good compressive behavior under both quasi-static and high strain rate conditions, and were related to both foam densities and strain rates. The compressive strength of the TEMs foams at 8400s^(-1) was up to 4 times higher than that at 10^(-4)s^(-1). The effects exerted by the strain rate and sample density were evaluated by a power law equation. With increasing density, the strain rate effect was more prominent. At quasistatic strain rates below 3000s^(-1) regime, initial cell wall buckling and subsequent cellular structure flattening were the main failure mechanisms. However, in the high strain rate(HSR) regime(above 5000s^(-1)), the foams were split into pieces by the following transverse inertia force.

Characterization of diffusion-bonded joint between Al and Mg using a Ni interlayer

Aluminum and magnesium were joined through diffusion bonding using Ni interlayer. The micro- structure and mechanical performance of the A1/Ni/Mg joints at different temperatures was investigated by means of scanning electron microscope （SEM）, electro-probe microanalyzer （EPMA）, X-ray diffraction （XRD）, Vickers hardness testing, and shear testing. The results show that the addition of Ni interlayer eliminates the formation of Mg-A1 intermetallic compounds and improves the bonding strength of the A1/Mg joints. The AI/Ni/Mg joints are formed by the diffusion of A1, Ni and Mg, Ni. The microstructure at the joint interface from A1 side to Mg side is A1 substrate/A1-Ni reaction layer/Ni interlayer/Mg-Ni reaction layer/Mg substrate multilayer structure. The mi- crohardness of the Mg-Ni reaction layer has the largest value of HV 255.0 owing to the existence of Mg2Ni phase. With the increase of bonding temperature, the shear strength of the joints increases firstly and then decreases. The A1/Ni/Mg joint bonds at 713 K for 90 min, exhibiting the maximum shear strength of 20.5 MPa, which is greater than that of bonding joint bonded directly or with Ag interlayer. The fracture of the joints takes place at the Mg- Ni interface rather than the A1-Ni interface, and the frac- ture way of the joints is brittle fracture.