Aluminum Foams with Closed Pores Obtained by Casting Techniques

Abstract

Techniques for the preparation of metallic foams, including casting, powder metallurgy and metallic deposition, have been reviewed. There is a present interest in the development of materials capable of plastic deforming to absorb the effects of shock and impact. Solid foams form an important class of lightweight, cellular engineering materials to meet these threats. The foam materials themselves may be divided into two classes according to their morphology. The first group is open cell structured foams containing pores that are connected to each other and form an interconnected network. The second class does not have interconnected pores and is termed as closed cell foams. The paper presents some experimental data for obtaining aluminum foams with hollow pores by casting techniques. The specific equipment used for experiments is also described.