Production of Al Alloys with Kelvin Cells Using the Lost-PLA Technique and Their Mechanical Characterization via Compression Tests

The mechanical behavior of AA6082 Kelvin cell foams under compressive tests has been investigated in this work. The lost-PLA replication technique, a simple and cheap technique, has been adopted as the production method. Six Al alloy samples have been made and successively subjected to compressive tests in order to examine the mechanical response and the repeatability too. The manufactured foams show good morphology and surface finishing, replicating the PLA 3D-printed foams with adequate accuracy. The experimental density of the foam has been found in good agreement with the theoretical one. When subjected to static compression, the Kelvin cell foams exhibit a load–strain diagram characterized by the initial linear stage followed by two plateaus at successively increasing load levels. Final densification occurs when there is no more space available for further plastic deformation and the load sharply increases. The specific absorbed energy has been calculated from load–strain curves: the average measured value was found to be 2.3 J/cm3, and standard deviation in the six compression tests was 0.3 J/cm3.