Dr Junyi Lee

Research Area

Aluminium Foam Sandwich Structures for Aerospace Applications

Aluminium foams are cellular solids in which pure aluminium or aluminium alloy acts as a matrix with randomly distributed pores. Sandwich panels made from face sheets with an aluminium foam core possess several advantages such as having high stiffness per unit mass (E^(1/3)/density), high energy absorption, good sound insulation properties and many others. Therefore, aluminium foam sandwich panels have many potential applications in the aerospace, automotive and shipping industry where lightweight materials with excellent mechanical properties are essential.

The main aim of my research is to carry out modelling and testing to aid the development, design and manufacture of novel sandwich structures for new lightweight aircraft wing and fuselage designs. This involves the characterisation of the blowing agent used in the foaming process of aluminium, assessing the metallurgical bonds between the face sheet and core of the sandwich panels under varying precursor conditions and developing models to describe the mechanical behaviour of aluminium foam sandwich panels.

Research Keywords

• Aluminium
• Foam
• Sandwich panel
• Mechanical properties
• Modeling

Qualifications

• 2012: MEng (Hons) Mechanical Engineering

Contact Details

Email: junyi.lee108@imperial.ac.uk