In-situ observation of fracture of aluminium foam using synchrotron X-ray microtomography

Synchrotron X-ray microtomography has been utilized for the 3D characterisation of microstructure in the cell materials of aluminium foams. Tomographs, consisting of about 10(9) isotropic voxels with a maximum of 1.0 mu m edge, were collected at the SPring-8 in Japan. A combination of high-resolution phase contrast imaging technique and several state-of-the-art application techniques has enabled the quantitative image analyses of micro-pore, intermetallic particles and grain boundary as well as the assessment of their effects on compressive deformation and fracture behaviours in two kinds of aluminium foams.