Effect of the TiH2 pre-treatment on the energy absorption ability of 6061 aluminium alloy foam

•Better understanding of evolution of the unit-cell volume and change of the fcc crystal lattice with different time and temperature of annealing.•Information about an effect of pre-treatment of TiH2 which leads to 20% increase of collapse stress and 30% increase of energy absorption ability of 6061 aluminium alloy foam.•Better reproducibility of collapse stress and mechanical properties with used pre-treated TiH2; which can be used to modify the crash absorption elements.

Expansion kinetics of aluminium foams is generally driven by foaming agent. Therefore, a proper type and pre-treatment of the foaming is important for improvement of its inner structure, mechanical properties and energy absorption ability. This paper is focused to reveal an effect of long-term oxidation of TiH2 on foaming kinetics (expansion profile) and structure of heat-treatable 6061 alloy foam. Subsequently, a uniaxial compression test was performed to study the effect of structural changes due to pre-treatment of TiH2 on the mechanical properties and absorption ability. Structural transformation of TiH2 was also studied with respect to annealing conditions.