What can metal foams be used for?
Open-celled metal foam, also called metal sponge, can be used in heat exchangers (compact electronics cooling, cryogen tanks, PCM heat exchangers), energy absorption, flow diffusion, and lightweight optics. The high cost of the material generally limits its use to advanced technology, aerospace, and manufacturing.
Are metal foams beneficial?
It is noted that metal foams are able to combine low density with good bending stiffness and strength, making them attractive core materials for use in industrial applications (e.g. aircraft wing structures).
What is the recipe for metal foam?
Finally, a foam with a very coarse pore structure and some signs of collapse is shown on the right. 1 Mix a metal powder with a blowing agent. For example, mix 99.5% alu minium powder with 0.5% titanium hydride powder. 2 Hot press, or extrude, the powder mixture.
What company makes metal foam?
Some of the key players in the metal foam market are ERG Aerospace Corporation (US), CYMAT Technologies Ltd. (Canada), Alantum (South Korea), Mott Corporation (US), Liaoning Rontec Advanced Material Technology Co., Ltd. (China), Shanxi Putai Aluminum Foam Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (China), Mayser GmbH & Co.
Is metal foam expensive?
Metal foams are still very expensive due to the complicated and energy-intensive manufacturing procedure. As against conventional bulk metals and alloys such as stainless steel; composite metal foams expand at a relatively constant pace on being exposed to high heat.
Is metal foam bullet proof?
If you make that foam out of metal, it turns out, it can stop a projectile. Researchers from North Carolina State University have created just such a foam, and it can freeze the trajectory of a . 50 caliber bullet better than the current armor used by the military—thick slabs of steel—at half the weight.
What are the downsides to using metal foam?
Conventional metal foams have gas-filled pores within the metal, which reduce weight but pose some drawbacks, such as difficulty in controlling the size and shape of the pores during manufacturing.
What are the downsides of metal foam?