TY - JOUR
T1 - Effect of preform on the compressive behavior and energy absorption performance of hollow glass microsphere/aluminum composites
AU - Zhang, Fangzhou
AU - Wang, Yangwei
AU - Li, Hong Bin
AU - Bao, Jiawei
AU - An, Rui
AU - Zhang, Changle
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2026 Elsevier Ltd.
PY - 2026/2
Y1 - 2026/2
N2 - Hollow glass microsphere/aluminum (HGM/Al) composites were fabricated via the vacuum pressure infiltration technique, wherein ZL101 Al melt was infiltrated into a porous preform with HGMs serving as the reinforcing skeleton. The effects of HGM preform preparation process on the microstructure, compressive mechanical behavior, and energy absorption performance of the composites were systematically investigated through quasi-static and dynamic compression tests. The results demonstrated that the HGM preform can effectively resist the adverse effects induced by viscous flow and momentum impact of Al melt on HGMs during the infiltration process, thereby improving the uniformity of the composite’s microstructure and properties. When the HGM preform was sintered at 620 °C for 150 min, the microspheres exhibited a favorable bonding effect and maintained high shell integrity. Under quasi-static (0.001 s−1) and dynamic (5500 s−1) strain rates, the composite achieved peak stresses of 115.96 MPa and 131.93 MPa, plateau stresses of 86.41 MPa and 117.75 MPa, specific energy absorption values of 45.33 MJ/kg and 51.02 MJ/kg, respectively, making it a lightweight material with outstanding energy absorption performance.
AB - Hollow glass microsphere/aluminum (HGM/Al) composites were fabricated via the vacuum pressure infiltration technique, wherein ZL101 Al melt was infiltrated into a porous preform with HGMs serving as the reinforcing skeleton. The effects of HGM preform preparation process on the microstructure, compressive mechanical behavior, and energy absorption performance of the composites were systematically investigated through quasi-static and dynamic compression tests. The results demonstrated that the HGM preform can effectively resist the adverse effects induced by viscous flow and momentum impact of Al melt on HGMs during the infiltration process, thereby improving the uniformity of the composite’s microstructure and properties. When the HGM preform was sintered at 620 °C for 150 min, the microspheres exhibited a favorable bonding effect and maintained high shell integrity. Under quasi-static (0.001 s−1) and dynamic (5500 s−1) strain rates, the composite achieved peak stresses of 115.96 MPa and 131.93 MPa, plateau stresses of 86.41 MPa and 117.75 MPa, specific energy absorption values of 45.33 MJ/kg and 51.02 MJ/kg, respectively, making it a lightweight material with outstanding energy absorption performance.
KW - Aluminum matrix syntactic foams
KW - Compressive behavior
KW - Hollow glass microsphere
KW - Mechanical property
KW - Preform
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105029254782
U2 - 10.1016/j.apmt.2026.103124
DO - 10.1016/j.apmt.2026.103124
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:105029254782
SN - 2352-9407
VL - 48
JO - Applied Materials Today
JF - Applied Materials Today
M1 - 103124
ER -