Fabrication and energy absorption properties of titanium foam with CaCl2 as a space holder

This study employed calcium chloride (CaCl2) as a space holder to fabricate titanium foam via the sintering and dissolution process (SDP). The effects of the space holder content on the porosity and compression mechanical properties were investigated. The microstructure and composition of the titanium foam samples were analyzed with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Compression tests used a universal testing machine. The results indicated the successful preparation of titanium foam using CaCl2 as the space holder. The porosities of the titanium foam were 71-89%, and the cells were 1.0-3.0 mm. The porosities of the titanium foam increased following the addition of the space holder. The plateau stress of the titanium foam, which was 18.1-105.6 MPa and obeyed the Gibson-Ashby models, decreased with an increase in porosity. The energy absorption capacity of the titanium foam was 11.2-55.6 MJ/m3 when the strain was 50%. The maximum ideal energy absorption efficiency was about 0.78. Titanium foam with 71-88% porosity exhibited the potential for energy absorption applications.