Manufacture, characterisation and application of cellular metals and metal foams

Abstract

The possibilities for manufacturing metal foams or other porous metallic structures are reviewed. The various manufacturing processes are classified according to the state of matter in which the metal is processed - solid, liquid, gaseous or ionised. Liquid metal can be foamed directly by injecting gas or gas-releasing blowing agents, or by producing supersaturated metal-gas solutions. Indirect methods include investment casting, the use of space-holding filler materials or melting of powder compacts which contain a blowing agent. If inert gas is entrapped in powder compacts, a subsequent heat treatment can produce cellular metals even in the solid state. The same holds for various sintering methods, metal powder slurry foaming, or extrusion and sintering of polymer/powder mixtures. Finally, electro-deposition or metal vapour deposition also allow for the production of highly porous metallic structures. The various ways for characterising the properties of cellular metals are reviewed in second section of this paper. Non-destructive as well as destructive methods are described. Finally, the various application fields for cellular metals are discussed. They are divided into structural and functional applications and are treated according to their relevance for the different industrial sectors. © 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.