Effect of In Situ Bonding on Microstructure and Compression Performance of Aluminum Foam‐Filled Tubes

This study develops a novel melt foaming technique for fabricating aluminum foam‐filled tubes (FFTs) with in situ bonding. Through a high‐temperature foaming process within a dynamically rotating mold, the foam and tube of FFT are cofabricated. The microstructure of FFT is observed, and the compression performance of FFT is also explored. The results demonstrate that the plateau stress of FFT is 25.50 MPa. The energy absorption and specific energy absorption of FFT are 12.75 MJ m − 3 and 15.0 kJ kg −1 , respectively. Due to the in situ bonding, the energy absorption of FFT is increased by 87.2%. The stress remains stable in the axial compression process, and no macroscopic fracture occurs in FFT. Finite element models based on specimens are reconstructed by X‐ray tomography. The tensile test is applied to the tube of FFT to obtain the parameters of the finite element simulation. The results of the finite element simulation also show that the composite structure of FFT deforms cooperatively in axial compression. The purpose of this study is to provide a high‐efficiency strategy for achieving a composite structure aluminum foam with superior energy absorption and overcoming bonding failure during the deformation process.