General
-
Aluminum foam is a relatively new material and its full range of
engineering applications is not yet known. One reason for this is that
its material properties have yet to be described in such a way that
enables mathematical modeling of the material under different loading
conditions. Once aluminum foam is accurately characterized in terms of
Young’s modulus, yield strength, and plateau stress, as well as cell
morphology and cell defects, finite element analysis should be able to
accurately predict how the material will behave in various applications.
- Aluminium foam is a
highly porous cellular material were pores represent 65 - 90 % of the
total volume. Aluminum foam is not used to its greatest advantage when a
straight material for material swap is made but when a part or a group
of parts is redesigned to optimize the multifuctionality of aluminum
foam.
Production
-
Aluminum foam is
manufactured using a few different methods. The foam which will be
tested in this study, trade named Alporas, is made by first mixing
calcium into the molten aluminum to increase viscosity, then
introducing TiH2 which separates into titanium and
hydrogen. The titanium mixes with the aluminum alloy and the
hydrogen causes foaming of the molten mixture which is responsible
for creating the porous aluminum foam
- A first group of
foam making processes starts from the molten metal which is
processed to a porous material by foaming it directly, by using an
indirect method via a polymer foam or by casting the liquid metal
around solid filler materials which reserve space for the pores or
which remain in the foam.
Technology
- Cymat’s Low
Pressure Casting is similar to the aluminum die-casting process,
which is commonly used to make aluminum wheels. Cymat’s process
involves injecting SAF into a mould. The pressure of injection is
controlled so that it is sufficient to fill the mold precisely,
while not being so high as to collapse the unique cell structure of
SAF. This technology is currently in the developmental phase.
- Precursor
technology involves adding a foaming agent to molten MMC, followed
by rapidly cooling the melt to form a solid precursor with a defined
shape. Under specific re-heating conditions the precursor will
expand to fill a cavity. The result is a uniform-celled foam. A new
application for
aluminium powders in
structural shapes involves the production of lightweight foam panels
or components.
Market
- Metal foams could
find use in catalysts, the market for which in the year 2000
approached $27 billion in the United States alone. They could also
find use in advanced chemical sensors for explosives and other
harmful agents, Tappan said, in storing hydrogen fuel, or even as
coatings for pellets in nuclear fusion experiments.
- A companies
aluminum foam found its first commercial application two years ago
when a European automaker started putting it in the side frames of
its sports cars to help in absorbing the energy from a side
collision, Trendelenburg said. There have been a bunch of companies
out there trying to make metal foam successful, but no none has been
been able to do it cheaper. This company is getting very close to
doing it.
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