Stabilization and Mechanical Properties of Mg-3Ca and Mg-3Ca/SiC/5p Foams Alloyed with Beryllium

The present paper investigates the stabilization of Mg-3Ca alloy and Mg-3Ca/SiC/5p composite foams with and without the addition of 0.12 wt.% beryllium. In Mg-3Ca alloy foam, Be addition has shown a significant improvement in the expansion and pore structure. Whereas, in case of Mg-3Ca/SiC/5p composite foams, the SiC particles stabilized the foam effectively, while Be addition does not show any distinguishable improvement in the foam structure. The formation of BeO and the dense coverage of SiC particles in the gas–solid interface of Mg-3Ca and Mg-3Ca/SiC/5p composite foams, respectively, are the reasons for the foam stabilization. Mg-3Ca/SiC/5p composite foam exhibited lowest foam density of 0.10 g/cm 3 . The quasi-static compression test shows that Mg-3Ca-0.12Be/SiC/5p composite foam containing Be exhibited lower foam density and higher normalized compressive strength. The energy absorption capacity per unit foam density in Be containing foams was also higher.