Metal Foams
Task 1
How metal foams are made
A metal foam is a cellular structure made up of a solid metal containing a large volume fraction of gas-filled pores. They are made by either injecting a gas into liquid metal from the outside source or causing precipitation in gas which has previously been dissolved in liquid.
Properties of metal foam
- Ultralight material
- High porosity
- High strength
- low thermal conductivity
- High compression strengths
- Good energy absorption characteristics
Applications of metal foam
Metal foam can be used for cars as it is lightweight and strong, this would make the car more efficient. Also it would be good as it can absorb the impact if the car crashes. The stronger foams are usually used as impact/ shock absorptions since they are fit for the purpose instead of using more brittle metals. It is cheaper to produce metal foams since they require less metal so this is why they are used more and produced more than other metals.