Use of metallic foam in automotive applications.

There is a growing demand for high-quality, energy-absorbing structural elements in numerous industry sectors, including automotive, aerospace, building, and biomedical. With growing automobile speeds and possible impact energy, the desire for improved crash-worthiness of the vehicle is a critical concern. This involves the development of innovative materials capable of effectively absorbing and dissipating impact forces, assuring increased safety. Aluminum foam sandwiches (AFSs) with closed cells are among these materials, and because of their lightweight nature, high strength, and excellent energy absorption properties, they can be used as shock absorber structures, such as bumpers, door pillars, and so on, by converting impact energy into plastic deformation energy and keeping the peak force acting on the protected objects below the level that could cause damage. However, understanding the mechanical behavior of these aluminum foam sandwiches (AFSs) is crucial for a wide range of possible applications. In this regard, this research demonstrates the mechanical characterization of aluminum foam sandwiches (AFSs) which are created by brazing and consisting of Alporas made aluminum foam core and aluminum alloy as face-sheet material subjected to fatigue (compression-compression) loading conditions. Three-point bending fatigue tests are performed on all the samples of aluminum foam sandwiches (AFSs). Optical and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) along with energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS) are utilized for surface characterization and analyzing foam’s microstructure, chemical composition, and bonding interfaces.