MULTI-OBJECTIVE OPTIMIZATION OF ALUMINIUM FOAM MANUFACTURING PARAMETERS

Aluminium foams are a new class of materials with low densities, large specific surface and novel physical and mechanical properties. Their applications are extremely varied: for light weight structural components, for filters and electrodes and for shock or sound absorbing products. Recently, interesting foaming technology developments have proposed metallic foams as a valid commercial chance; foam manufacturing techniques include solid, liquid or vapour state methods. The foams presented in this study are produced by Melt Gas Injection (MGI) process starting from melt aluminium. The objective of this paper is to develop a method for the analysis of the effects of process parameters on the quality of foam parts and to determine their optimal combination. The effects of the foaming parameters are studied by the Taguchi method, applied to design an orthogonal experimental array. A multi-objective optimization approach is then proposed by simultaneously minimizing the relative density and maximizing the absorbed energy efficiency.