Manufacture of Aluminum Foam Sandwich (AFS) Components

By Hans-Wolfgang Seeliger*
Much work has been done to find commercially efficient applications for metal foams produced using the powder metallurgical route. Most of these efforts have not been successful, because foam quality could not be reproduced reliably and production methods were too inefficient. This article describes the conditions under which aluminum foam sandwich parts may be put into series production in an economical way.

RESEARCH NEWS

1. Introduction
Recent research work at the Karmann company and its partners (IFAM Bremen and the Schunk/Honsel development association) has focused on volume production of aluminum foam sandwich (AFS) parts. The high potential of AFS with respect to volume production and the properties of the material soon became clear. In 1998, the first concept car with AFS parts was presented at the Detroit Motor Show. So many visitors were interested in the car that the development group decided to establish the prerequisites for series production of this vehicle. It soon became apparent that there was a lot of basic development and research work to be done in the fields of production engineering, material production, reproducibility, joining and cutting techniques, fatigue, and quality management. Consequently the start-up of the pilot plant had to be postponed from 2000.[1] Since then all questions concerning material production, production engineering, and joining and cutting techniques may be considered answered: solutions have been found for the fundamental problems and no more serious difficulties are expected. In the field of quality management, basic examinations have taken place and future work will show which procedures to chose for testing structural parts. Fatigue does not seem to pose a serious problem, as fissures show on the surface of the sandwich structure and are easily detectable. A real impediment to volume production of AFS sandwich parts is the inherent variability of the foam structure and thus the properties of the parts. Recently, progress has been made in this area. A qualified production process makes it possible to minimize the number of flaws. It is also possible to give a first realistic estimate of the costs of material and parts. Foaming still poses a problem: this process is not fully understood. Extremely good foam qualities can be achieved, but

quality is too variable for efficient commercial application: on-going tests should find a solution soon. Another important aspect is the expected commercial potential of AFS, primarily from future applications. It is not only the automobile industry that offers application possibilities for AFS but also mechanical engineering, transport, shipbuilding, sports equipment, and consumer goods. AFS parts will mainly replace flat steel, aluminum, or composites. The lower weight of AFS parts is the major advantage, but the construction simplification resulting from integral construction methods made possible by sandwich structures is also important. Material and production costs are an important factor for the commercial success of AFS since only a commercially successful material will achieve the necessary production volume. We examine this aspect in more detail below.

2. Areas of Development
To successfully place a new material on the market, a number of joining technologies have to be developed for assembling, placing, cutting, and joining the parts. These technologies may have a big impact on the costs of production, parts, and products. AFS technology offers a number of advantages here. Although AFS is a sandwich material, which in general would imply higher processing costs, in some cases it is possible to chose cost saving processing techniques, since AFS is a pure metal sandwich material.

[*] Dr. H.-W. Seeliger Karmann GmbH Karmannstr. 1 D-49084 Osnabrck (Germany) E-mail: wseeliger@karmann.com

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Table 1. Overview of joining techniques for AFS.

2.1.3. TIG/MIG Welding Welding of AFS parts by common welding techniques is also possible. The fundamental techniques worth mentioning are TIG- and MIG-welding (Fig. 1b). Both techniques are suitable for joining two AFS parts or for joining AFS parts to aluminum parts. The advantages of these techniques include flexible application possibilities, the amount of experience in this field, and the low investment costs. The high stiffness of AFS sandwich parts, their low thermal conductivity, and the resulting low thermal distortion rate minimize the need for clamping and fixing the parts. As in laser welding, only the face sheets have to be welded. Welding rates for manual TIG welding reach 0.3 m/min; those for MIG welding reach 0.8 m/min. Partly mechanized welding with a linear carriage may achieve a speed up to 1.3 m/min. 2.1.4. Bolt/Pin Welding Another joining technology of considerable interest for AFS sandwiches is that of welding bolts (Fig. 1c). These bolts do not transfer high forces but are employed for fixing cable bundles and wires or as electrical contacts. The welding process is completely controlled and monitored with the help of a welding head with a linear motor. This technology can make allowance for variations in the thickness of the sandwich. As with the other techniques, the core layer remains intact in the welding area. Even welding a bolt directly onto a flaw, such as a void or a large pore, has no impact on the

Process Laser welding TIG welding MIG welding Pin/bolt welding Punch riveting Riveting nuts/screws Flow drilling Riveting Bonding

Details CO2-Laser, Nd:YAG by hand, partly mechanized, by robot by hand, mechanized AFS/aluminum; AFS/steel M4 - M8 M4 - M8 Blind riveting, Splay riveting 1-K and 2-K systems

2.1. Joining Technologies To be able to exploit the advantages of AFS technology efficiently, it is not sufficient to exchange highly stressed parts with AFS parts. AFS technology requires special constructions as well as joining techniques, adjusted to the characteristics of sandwich parts. AFS parts may be joined by a variety of possible processes. The most important ones are listed in Table 1. 2.1.2. Laser Welding The process of laser welding is suitable for series production. In order to weld face sheets of 1.2 mm, 3 kW power is required. By bluntly welding sandwiches, only the face sheets are bonded, while the core layers remain unaffected. As shown in Figure 1a, the filigree cell structure is not damaged by local thermal impact. In welding flat AFS sheets with linear joints, a maximum speed of 10 m/min has been achieved. When both face sheets have to be bonded, usually the part has to be turned, thus decreasing the welding speed to < 5 m/min.

a)

b)

Laser welding AFS-Surface AFS-Surface Core Area 12 mm

a)

b)

c)

12 mm

c)
Fig. 1. Different welding techniques for AFS: a) laser welding, b) TIG welding, c) bolt/ pin welding. Fig. 2. Different joining techniques for AFS: a) punch riveting, b) riveting nuts and screws, c) flow drilling.

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quality of the bonding as the joining zone is limited to the face sheet. 2.1.5. Punch Riveting Owing to the increase of mixed constructions and the problem of thermal impact on the structure by assembling parts by welding, punch riveting has been favored in recent years. Punch riveting has been used since 1994 in the construction of the Audi A8 and reached a peak in the construction of the Audi A2 with 1800 rivets per car. Figure 2a shows the joining area and a section through the fusion. Studies of the settling properties of the core layer have shown another positive characteristic of AFS sandwiches. If AFS is strongly compressed (> 35 %), its tensile strength drops to a value of 50 % plastic deformation, but regains the original mechanical values of the non-distorted sandwich at maximum compression. This property is a result of the increasing mechanical clutching of the collapsed cell structures and the similarly increasing friction. The mechanical values of compression strength and shear stress decrease in this range but they stabilize again at a low level under static or dynamic load. 2.1.6. Riveting Nuts and Screws Another possible joining technique consists of riveting nuts and screws (Fig. 2b); such a joint cannot transfer high forces. It is rather employed to fix holders and devices. The size of the nuts and screws may range from M4 to M10, depending on the thickness of the AFS parts and the face sheet. 2.1.7. Flow Drilling Flow drilling (Fig. 2c) is an alternative to riveting nuts. Frictional heat is generated by a multi-polygon that is pressed onto the face sheet in axial direction at a high revolution rate/speed. The material becomes plastic and easily formable. You will get a defined drill-hole and the material of the face sheets flows into the core. The length of the formed hole wall will be three to five times the thickness of the face material. The minimum speed for flow drilling is about 2400 rpm at a spindle moment of 1.5 kW. A coated thread cutter is used at a revolution rate of 500 rpm. The lifetime of the flow former and the thread cutter amounts to 10 000 drills and threads. This is very promising, but so far only feasibility studies have been carried out.

2.1.8. Riveting AFS parts may also be riveted. Especially in mixed constructions, riveting is very suitable. It is important to choose a relatively large diameter of the rivet head since too small a diameter leads to a fastening pressure of the rivet that compresses the core. Owing to the high surface pressure you will find plastic deformations on the face sheets. 2.1.9. Adhesive Bonding AFS with face sheets of aluminum may be bonded with the same technology as conventional aluminum sheets (Fig. 3). The same parameters have to be respected: the creation of a defined surface, a construction adapted for bonding, and especially the choice of an adequate bonding system. The strength of today's bonding systems can exceed the physical values of the aluminum foam cores. One of the main advantages of bonding consists in the optimal transmission of the applied forces. This technology allows AFS parts to be excellently integrated into the surrounding structure.

2.2. Cutting Technologies After foaming further processing techniques are necessary to give AFS parts their final outline. Different technologies have been validated concerning their commercial efficiency and their feasibility in the production process. 2.2.1. Laser Cutting As all common mechanical cutting techniques lead to a strong deformation of the cut edges, they can only partly be applied to AFS parts due to their sandwich structure. Laser cutting does not lead to these deformations. Nevertheless, when applied to AFS, one has to make sure that both face sheets are cut in one go (Fig. 4). To cut a sandwich of 12 mm you need a laser capacity of 5 kW. The cutting speed is about 0.8 m/min. The aluminum foam between the face layers will melt more than the deck layers and takes up to the lower cut, thus decreasing the quality of the lower cut (Fig. 5).

Adhesive Perma Bond E32

6 mm
Fig. 3. Bonding of AFS. Fig. 4. Laser cutting of an AFS part.

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Laser Cutting, Standard

Optimized Cutting

4,2 mm

Fig. 7. AFS sandwich, cut with a tool.

Millng

12 mm

Optimized Cutting from both sides

2.2.4. Sawing
Fig. 5. Cutting of AFS sandwiches, different concepts.

The goal is to achieve a grade of processing close to the final outline with no burr at all: or at least one that can easily be removed. In order to increase the cutting speed, cutting gases with reactive components can be used. 2.2.1. Water Jet Cutting Another way of cutting AFS parts is by using a water jet. This technique poses a problem, since the water contains small abrasive particles, which can settle in the porous core layer. Washing still leaves some particles in the core layer, so we expect some contamination for the following painting steps (Fig. 6). 2.2.3. Cutting with Tools AFS sandwiches can be cut with tools. After foaming the edges are covered with a sort of skin (foaming skin). This skin is not impermeable to liquids, so during any final painting process paint may leak into the part. In order to avoid this, the cooled part is pressed back into its previous shape at the edges. The condensed material is now impermeable to liquids. The edges then have the same behavior and density as aluminum, and may thus be cut with a tool (Fig. 7).

Sawing (with an ordinary circular saw) is the easiest way to cut a flat AFS part. This cutting technique is limited to linear cuts, but nevertheless offers advantages due to the low investment costs and the high cutting speed. Cutting parameters have been optimized so that the consumption of saw blades is comparable to that of cutting aluminum.[2]

3. Production Steps for Making AFS Parts

Taking the back assembly of the Mercedes CLK convertible as an example, the production technology of AFS parts in series production is described here. All production steps will be analyzed, starting with the cut out sheet optimized to the part.

3.1. Deep Drawing of AFS In this special case, a sheet of 1050 mm 500 mm 3.4 mm has to be finished. The relation of core to face layer is 1/1.4 (Fig. 8a). The comparison of converting AFS and equally thick aluminum alloy parts showed a significant difference in their behavior. The correct choice of rolling parameters helps to avoid deformation of the surface sheet. Tests did not show a separation of core and face layer. Fissures may easily be detected at the surface: a crack in the core layer leads to a visible local reduction of material. Conversion may be achieved with the help of a tool (Fig. 8b), by deep drawing, or by a hydromechanical deformation process (for complex parts). Should it be possible in future to produce adequate lightweight alloy combinations it might even be possible to con-

Water jet cutted holes

150 mm

Water jet cutted lines

Fig. 6. Water jet cut AFS plate.

Fig. 8. a) AFS 1050 mm 500 mm 3.4 mm, b) deep drawn AFS-sheet (MB-A208 assembly part).

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struct parts of the bodywork with AFS. This would also imply a reduction in the minimal radius of bending.

3.2. Foaming Foaming is the main step in the production of AFS parts. Completely new techniques have to be invented in order to be able to foam parts of a reproducible quality in a short period of time for series production. Concepts have been worked out and are being tested at the moment. The part in Figure 9 needs 40 s for heating, 45 s for foaming, and another 30 s for the foam structure to cool. It is obvious that a constant foam height is achieved. Divergence solely depends on the geometry of the parts. During foaming, different sandwich heights cannot be achieved by merely using a tool as an obstacle: the surface layers are too stiff for this and the foaming pressure inside the sandwich is too low. Therefore the sandwich height is uniform
a
Fig. 10. a) Calibrated part, b) final cut with holes.

4.1. General Limits on Precursor Material In the case of AFS there is no point in merely comparing the material costs, as we are talking about an alloy. This means we have to compare a precursor with raw material. Furthermore, a mere comparison of the costs does not take into consideration the advantages of the alloy concerning its capacity. In Figure 11 the area weight and bending stiffness of aluminum sheets and AFS are compared. For a given bending stiffness of a certain part, Figure 11 allows one to determine the according area weight. In the given example, we compare an AFS sandwich panel with a surface layer of 0.6 mm with solid aluminum material. In this case, the solid material weighs five times more than if it is made of AFS, that is, five times more material would be needed to achieve the capacity of the AFS parts. This also implies that an AFS sheet may cost five times as much as the aluminum sheet without being more expensive, at only one fifth of its weight and having the same stiffness. Of course, the whole construction would be adjusted to the new material, so that the difference would be less dramatic. But this shows how interesting it is to employ AFS for structurally important parts.

3.3. Calibration, Boundary Closing, and Final Cutting In most cases it is necessary to add finishing touches to the foamed parts. Figure 6a shows how the part can be calibrated. As soon as the boundaries are compressed to the initial height, the part can get its final cut and necessary holes can be punched (Figs. 10a,b). This processing technique offers a low budget alternative to laser cutting. Problems known from honeycomb structures do not exist.

4. Cost Issues
One of the main reasons for developing AFS was to invent a low budget alternative to conventional sandwich structures and thus to allow its use in mass production. At first, AFS precursor material was compared with other existing sandwich structures with respect to the costs. Meanwhile it is compared to steel or aluminum because of its wide range of applications and its part in the replacement competition taking place.

90,00
Surface Weight and Bendingstiffness of AFS/Aluminum

18000,00

80,00

Weight Aluminum Sheet

16000,00

70,00 Bendingstiffness Aluminum Sheet

14000,00 Norm. Bendingstiffness [N/mm ]

3

Surface weight [kg/m ]

60,00

12000,00

50,00

10000,00 Bendingstiffness 8000,00 AFS Surfaces 0,6 mm 6000,00

40,00

Surface Weight with equal Bendingstiffness

30,00

20,00

4000,00 Weight 2000,00 AFS Surfaces 0,6 mm 0,00 40,00

10,00

0,00 0,00

5,00

10,00

15,00

20,00

25,00

30,00

35,00

Total height h [mm]

Fig. 9. Foamed AFS assembly part.

Fig. 11. Surface weight and bending stiffness of AFS.

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11
Cost spec. Bendingstiffniess [Nmm /kg Euro]

1 ,0 00

10 9 8

Precursor Material Costs

normalisied to steel

C o s t S p e c ific B e n d in g S tiffn e s s
0 ,9 00 0 ,8 00 0 ,7 00 0 ,6 00 0 ,5 00 0 ,4 00 0 ,3 00 0 ,2 00 0 ,1 00 0 ,0 00 Steel 0,75 Euro/kg Aluminum 2 Euro/kg AFS Magnesium 7,5 Euro/kg 5,5 Euro/kg AFS 15 Euro/kg

Norm costs/m 2

7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 Steel t=1,0 mm

Decrease of material cost by optimisation of the manufacturing process of AFS

Aluminum t=2,2 mm

Magnesium t=2,6 mm

AFS t=2,2/ foamed 9 mm

AFS t=2,2/ foamed 9 mm

Fig. 12. Normalized material costs (t = total thickness of the precursor material).

Fig. 14. Cost-specific bending stiffness.

4.2. Expected Material Costs Figure 12 presents the material costs of AFS normalized to steel with those of aluminum. The two columns show the cost development with dependency on the production amount and technique in the future. The goal is to achieve material costs of 22.5 times those of aluminum. With area construction, the bending stiffness determines the capacity of the part. Figure 13 compares the material costs of the different materials (per square meter). Figure 13 also gives the absolute area weights showing that AFS is the most lightweight material. If you divide the material dependant bending stiffness values (Fig. 13) by the weight you get the specific bending stiffness in relation to the price per square meter (Fig. 14).

AFS can already compete with aluminum at a price of 15 Euro per kg. For flat constructions, the specific costs of AFS fall short of those for steel or magnesium.

5. Summary
Whereas in the past it was not economical to produce sandwich parts, especially in automobile applications due to the high production effort and costs, AFS offers the possibility to economically produce sandwich parts with mass production techniques. The production and processing techniques presented above show that in the near future series applications are possible. The development of the precursor costs in the future also shows that AFS might be used in parts that have previously been made of steel due to its low price. Nevertheless, a construction designed to the material and the possibility to produce a high amount of AFS of a reliable quality are prerequisites for an efficient application. In particular, it is important to achieve knowledge of all parameters necessary for foam production for a further development of AFS.

160 140 120

C osts/m w ith equal B ending Stiffness

Euro/m 2

100 80 60 40 20 0
Weight 43 kg Weight 21 kg Weight 19 kg Weight 6 kg Weight 6 kg

[1] H.-W. Seeliger, Anwendungen und Eigenschaften dreidimensionaler Sandwiche aus Alumniumschaum, Haus der Technik, Technische Mitteilungen 1/01, 2001, pp. 4855 (ISSN 0040-1439). C. Beichelt, Fgen und Trennen von AluminiumschaumSandwichen, Haus der Technik, Technische Mitteilungen 1/01, 2001, pp. 4347 (ISSN 0040-1439).

Steel 0,75 Euro/kg

Aluminum 2 Euro/kg

Magnesium 7,5 Euro/kg

AFS 5,5 Euro/kg

AFS 15 Euro/kg

[2]

Fig. 13. Cost per m2 with equal bending stiffness.

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