Processing and Mechanical Properties of Ti//(alumina) mb /Al Core//Ti Sandwich Panels

Several sandwich panels with Ti-6AI-4V facesheets and syntactic metal foam (i.e., alumina microballoons (mb) in aluminum matrix) core were produced by a single step casting press. Optical microscopy and scanning acoustic microscopy techniques were used to examine the integrity of Ti/Al and mb/Al matrix interfaces. Mechanical property tests including compression, tension, flexure, and impact tests were performed to determine the characteristics of as-cast Ti//(alumina)mb/Al//Ti laminates. Presented in this paper are the specific details of design, processing, and mechanical behavior of the as-cast laminates.