Next Article in Journal
Chalcopyrite Dissolution at 650 mV and 750 mV in the Presence of Pyrite
Previous Article in Journal
Separation and Recycling for Rare Earth Elements by Homogeneous Liquid-Liquid Extraction (HoLLE) Using a pH-Responsive Fluorine-Based Surfactant
 
 
Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
Journals
Metals
Volume 5
Issue 3
10.3390/met5031553
metals-logo
Submit to this Journal Review for this Journal Propose a Special Issue
► Article Menu

Article Menu

share Share announcement Help format_quote Cite question_answer Discuss in SciProfiles thumb_up
...
Endorse textsms
...
Comment
first_page
settings
Order Article Reprints
Font Type:
Arial Georgia Verdana
Font Size:
Aa Aa Aa
Line Spacing:
Column Width:
Background:
Review

New Approaches to Aluminum Integral Foam Production with Casting Methods

by
Ahmet Güner
*,
Mustafa Merih Arıkan
and
Mehmet Nebioglu
Engineering Faculty, Material Science and Engineering Department, Alanya Alaaddin Keykubat University, Antalya 07425, Turkey
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Metals 2015, 5(3), 1553-1565; https://doi.org/10.3390/met5031553
Submission received: 25 June 2015 / Revised: 3 August 2015 / Accepted: 21 August 2015 / Published: 28 August 2015
Browse Figures
Versions Notes

Abstract

:
Integral foam has been used in the production of polymer materials for a long time. Metal integral foam casting systems are obtained by transferring and adapting polymer injection technology. Metal integral foam produced by casting has a solid skin at the surface and a foam core. Producing near-net shape reduces production expenses. Insurance companies nowadays want the automotive industry to use metallic foam parts because of their higher impact energy absorption properties. In this paper, manufacturing processes of aluminum integral foam with casting methods will be discussed.
Keywords:
aluminum; metal; foam; casting

Graphical Abstract

1. Introduction

Aluminum integral foams have wide applications in different industries because of their low density and high impact absorption [1,2], localized densification on impact [3,4], and lower thermal conductivity [5]. They are divided into two groups according to their structure [6,7]: open cell and closed cell. Different applications of metal integral foam have led to the development of various production methods.
The major advantage of metal foams produced by casting over other methods is the shell-like skin at the outer surface and the mostly closed cell foam inside the structure (Figure 1) [8]. Cast metal foams are preferred because of their physical and mechanical properties, especially their corrosion resistance and low thermal conductivity, and for their applications in the aerospace and automotive industries. Other important properties of cast-metal foams are a high stiffness to weight ratio, low density, fracture resistance, 10-times-greater impact energy absorption, acoustic isolation, direct flame resistance, and biocompatibility [9,10,11,12].
Metals 05 01553 g001 1024
Figure 1. Skin and foam structure of aluminum integral foam produced by casting.
Figure 1. Skin and foam structure of aluminum integral foam produced by casting.
Metals 05 01553 g001

2. Aluminum Integral Foam Casting

The development of metal foam production started in the 1960s. The process could not satisfy the price expectations at that time. However, many researchers remained interested and metallic foams and casting systems are still research interests today [13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21]. Aluminum metal foam production is divided into two types: open cell and closed cell [6,7]. Production systems affect the aluminum metal foam’s grain size, pore or cell size and shape, amount of pores, and shell thickness [7,11,22]. Thus, production has a major influence on the properties of the final product [23]. The amount of pores varies from 5%–97%, depending on the production method. Casting prototypes of metal foams and analytical solutions can be found in the literature [9,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32]. There are also melt-squeezing procedures in the literature for metal foam production [33,34], but this technique is not included in this review.
There are a number of gas source types for metal foam production. The same gas sources are used to obtain cell structures in different casting systems as in other foam production systems: gas agents (e.g., TiH2, MgH2, CaCO3, or CaMg(CO3)2), precursors, gas pressure chambers, or blowing gas into the melt with a nozzle [9,25,35,36]. The foamability of aluminum alloys depends on viscosity and cooling conditions [37]. The drainage period of liquid through the cell walls starts after the period of gas production. Drainage is affected by the viscosity and the surface tension of liquid metal and causes cells to collapse, shape defects, and non-uniform distribution of solid metal. Melt viscosity is enhanced by adding second phase ceramic particles such as SiC, Al2O3, or MgO [9,38,39,40,41,42,43,44].
Companies producing aluminum metal foams with different methods also have casting system prototypes. Some of the companies and their process names are Cymat (using the Alcan process; Mississauga, ON, Canada), Mepura (trade name Alulight; Ranshofen, Austria), Shinko Wire (trade name Alporas; Osaka, Japan), and ERG (trade name Duocel; Oakland, CA, USA).
In this paper, some of the prominent casting systems in the literature are explained.

2.1. Gas Sources of Metal Foam Production Systems

2.1.1. Gas Agents

Generally, CaAl2O4, ZrH2, CaMg(CO3)2, TiH2, and MnO2 are used as gas agents for Al alloys. There are different gas agents for other alloys [45,46,47].
After the gas agents are decomposed, a gas is produced by the decomposition reaction. Every gas agent has its own reaction temperature (Equations (1)–(7) in Table 1), which also affects the liquid metal composition after being decomposed.
Table
Table 1. Examples of gas agents used in metal foam systems.
Table 1. Examples of gas agents used in metal foam systems.
Equation NumberEquationTemperature
1TiH2→Ti + H2at 480 °C [48]
2nH2O + mM→MmOn + 2nH[49]
3MgCO2→MgO + CO2at 1300 °C [46]
4SrCO2→SrO + CO2at 1300 °C [46]
5CaCO2→CaO + CO2at 830 °C [50]
62Al(l) + 3CO2(g)→Al2O3(s) + 3CO(g)[51]
78Al(l) + 3CO2(g)→2Al2O3(s) + Al4C3(s)[51]
Equations (6) and (7) (Table 1) show that there could be other chemical products like Al4C3 in Equation (7) instead of CO in Equation (6), even if we want to have gas produced by the decomposition reaction while using the same gas agents as a gas source [51].

2.1.2. Precursor Gas Tablets

Precursors have been used as gas sources in metal foam production and have been prepared with different technologies [52,53,54,55,56,57]. Precursors consist of foamable gas agents and metal powders. Foamable gas agents are also called blow agents.
Precursors are used to obtain foam by re-melting. Aluminum powders are mixed with gas agent powders by hot pressing, extrusion, or powder rolling for Alulight or Foam-In-Al processes [58]. Gas agents can be added to aluminum alloys in die-casting or ordinary crucibles, which is called the Formgrip process [59]. Precursors used for Thixocasting are produced by pre-compacting powder mixtures to billets and heating them to the semi-solid state [60]. Liquid aluminum is sprayed and deposited on the gas agents in the Osprey casting system. The precursor process consists of foamable precursor production for the next step of the metal foam production system [28,45,50,59].
An alternative method for precursor production is the equal channel angular pressing method (ECAP). Precursors consist of aluminum powders, aluminum scrap, foaming agents, and stabilizing particles (oxides, calcium). Early decomposition of foaming agents can be overcome by preheating the precursor, which postpones the decomposition of gas agents and leads to using the ideal amount of the foaming agent [28].

2.1.3. Decomposition of Moisture from Mold Surfaces

Suematsu proposed the pore evolution model with moisture [36]. Absorbed moisture on the surface of the mold is decomposed into hydrogen and oxygen in the casting. Metal is oxidized and hydrogen is absorbed in molten metal. Absorbed hydrogen forms pores while the metal is solidifying because of temperature-dependent insoluble hydrogen. The temperature dependence of hydrogen solubility in solid and liquid aluminum under the hydrogen pressure of 0.1 Mpa is given in Table 2 [49]. This production is the same as lotus metal production [38]. Oxygen from the moisture decomposition forms oxides that are heterogeneous nucleation centers. Thus, more pores can be obtained with moisturized mold surfaces than dry molds with the same amount of hydrogen gas concentration in molten metal obtained in a gas pressure chamber [49].
Table
Table 2. Molar fraction of hydrogen atoms (MFH) in aluminum according to temperature [49].
Table 2. Molar fraction of hydrogen atoms (MFH) in aluminum according to temperature [49].
Equation NumberEquationTemperature Range/K
1MFH = 4 × 10−9 × e0.006T675–938
2MFH = 4 × 10−13 × e0.320T938–946
3MFH = 1 × 10−7 × e0.005T946–1140

2.1.4. Direct Gas Injection

The device consists of a gas blower and impeller. Pore formation gas is introduced to the liquid metal with a tube while the impeller rotates in liquid metal. The impeller is rotated at 600–800 rpm. Gas pressure is applied to the gas chamber for foam production and the gas rate is 6–7 L/min [61]. Uniform distribution of the pore and refined size can be obtained from the system.

2.2. Aluminum Foam Casting Methods

2.2.1. Mold Casting

Gas agents are unnecessary in this aluminum metal foam casting system. The gas pressure inside the liquid metal is obtained by controlling the gas pressure of the casting chamber (Figure 2). The gas type is determined by the liquid metal. Hydrogen gas is used for aluminum and its alloys [24].
Directional solidification takes place in shell castings. Thus, gas bubbles form parallel to the direction of solidification. A chiller can also be applied to the cylindrical side face of the mold. Thus, sides of the casting become cooler. This leads gas bubbles to form from the outer surface of the metal toward the center. The development of the side cooling system guides continuous casting for metal foam production [49,50,51,52,53,54,55,56,57,58,59,60,61,62,63].
Metals 05 01553 g002 1024
Figure 2. Mold casting system for production of metal foam [49].
Figure 2. Mold casting system for production of metal foam [49].
Metals 05 01553 g002

2.2.2. Continuous Casting

The melting unit, mold, and cooler are placed in a gas chamber. The gas concentration inside the liquid metal is adjusted by gas pressure in the chamber. The production method is similar to standard continuous casting.
Cells form with the dissolved gas in the liquid metal during solidification. Cell formation is explained by porosity. Parameters affecting porosity affect the cell formation, too. There is no need to use gas agents in this type of metal foam production (Figure 3) [49,57,61].
Metals 05 01553 g003 1024
Figure 3. Integral aluminum foam production with continuous casting [49,61].
Figure 3. Integral aluminum foam production with continuous casting [49,61].
Metals 05 01553 g003

2.2.3. Investment Casting and Evaporative Pattern Casting

Metal foams can also be produced by investment casting. Open cell polymer foams are produced from polyurethane materials. The polymer foam is impregnated with a heat-resistant resin. This system is used as a space holder.
The polymer foam is removed from the system by heat, in the same way the wax is removed in investment casting. The space will be filled with casting metal after the polymer is removed from the system, as shown in Figure 4.
The mold is heated to aid filling, especially the narrow areas, before the casting. Open cell metal foam is produced by pressure investment casting. The commercial names of the production methods are DUOCEL and Cellmet; 6101 and A356 aluminum alloys are produced by this method [9,27,38,57,64,65].
Metals 05 01553 g004 1024
Figure 4. Production of aluminum metal foams using space holders [38,57,64].
Figure 4. Production of aluminum metal foams using space holders [38,57,64].
Metals 05 01553 g004

2.2.4. Casting with Precursor Gas Tablets

Precursor gas tablets are made of a mixture of aluminum powders and TiH2 powder and are processed by ECAP. The ECAP process replaces the steps with cold isostatic pressing of powder and gas agent mixtures and extrusion. The benefits of the system are no pre-compaction, no preheating of powders, and continuous and almost scrap-free production. This method reduces manufacturing costs by about 70% because lower amounts of gas agents are necessary. Pouring melt on the precursor gas tablets will lead to foaming (Figure 5). Melt is a heater for precursor gas tablets and fills the space between precursor gas tablets [28].
Metals 05 01553 g005 1024
Figure 5. Casting aluminum on foamable precursor gas tablets [28].
Figure 5. Casting aluminum on foamable precursor gas tablets [28].
Metals 05 01553 g005

2.2.5. Direct Foaming Investment Casting

The direct foaming of melts by direct gas injection is used for producing foam in 6–7 mm thick ceramic shell molds, which are produced from zircon and molochite refractories used for casting [66].
Carbide particles are mixed with the impeller in the melt. Pressurized air is applied to the impeller’s air input for the desired amount of foaming. Foam will fill the crucible first and then flow to the sprue (Figure 6). After filling the sprue with foam, the impeller rotation is stopped. The mold is removed from the crucible after 20 s so the foam will solidify [66].
Metals 05 01553 g006 1024
Figure 6. Casting configuration showing direct foaming investment casting [66].
Figure 6. Casting configuration showing direct foaming investment casting [66].
Metals 05 01553 g006
The surface quality of the product could be improved by higher casting temperatures. However, this will increase both the amount of drained metal and the density of the product. The range of product density is higher than with other production methods. The reason is probably because extra liquid metal carried with foam to the sprue and non-drained liquid metal remains on cell walls. Another reason could be the bursting of some of the bubbles during the filling of the sprue by foam [67] and the increase in the density [66].

2.2.6. High Pressure Integral Foam Moulding (HP-IFM)

The melt is injected into a steel mold under standard die-casting conditions with high velocity. A high dwell pressure of several hundred bars is applied after the mold has been filled completely. The filling time period is the same as in conventional die-casting aluminum production. Liquid metal that fills the mold cannot expand between 10–150 milliseconds due to the decomposition of the gas agents. After this period, liquid metal starts to expand, and compared to the standard die-casting method, the expansion time is longer but the pressure is too high. Gas agents are added to the liquid metal as a powder in between the injection cylinder and part cavity. MgH2 and TiH2 are widely used as gas agents. The dissolution time and the temperature of gas agents are important parameters for choosing the right agent. Gas agents that are present in the liquid metal start to increase the pressure of the gas in the mold [8,26].
Figure 7 shows that one of the mold parts is moveable to decrease the gas pressure in the mold. Moving the mold face will allow controlling the expansion of this integral metal foam in HP-IFM systems [26].
Metals 05 01553 g007 1024
Figure 7. HP-IFM. Part 1 is moving and part 2 is stable [26].
Figure 7. HP-IFM. Part 1 is moving and part 2 is stable [26].
Metals 05 01553 g007
Mechanical properties of different commercially produced aluminum metal foams are listed in Table 3. Foaming temperature and homogenizing heat treatment provide the desired mechanical properties [7,68,69].
Table
Table 3. Aluminum metal foam’s mechanical properties [27].
Table 3. Aluminum metal foam’s mechanical properties [27].
PropertiesCymat, AlcanMepura, AlulightShinko Wire, AlporasERG, Duocel
MaterialsAl–SiCAl–Mg–SiAl–5Ca–TiAl 6061 T6
Relative density0.02–0.20.1–0.350.08–0.10.05–0.1
StructureClosed CellClosed CellClosed CellOpen Cell
Young’s Modulus [MPa]0.02–2.01.7–120.4–1.00.06–0.3
Poisson’s ratio, ν0.31–0.340.31–0.350.31–0.360.31–0.37
Compression strength [MPa]0.04–7.01.9–14.01.3–1.70.9–3.0
Tensile strength [MPa]0.05–8.52.2–301.6–1.91.9–3.5
Fracture toughness [MPa·m1/2]0.03–0.50.3–1.60.1–0.90.1–0.2
Thermal conductivity [W/m·K]0.3–103.0–3.53.5–4.56.0–11

2.3. Properties of Some of the Commercial Al Foams

Compressive stress-strain curves up to the densification strain are shown in Figure 8. The chemical composition, the foam cell wall shape and its curvature, the sample direction, the cell type (open or closed), and the uniform distribution throughout the depth of the product are important factors from the view-point of their mechanical properties. Sometimes these aluminum foams are called by company names or product names. The ERG and Alporas foams have an almost constant plateau stress with increasing strain until the densification occurs. The serrations of Alcan foam correspond to the fracture of the cell walls (Figure 8) [70].
Metals 05 01553 g008 1024
Figure 8. Compressive stress-strain curves for aluminum foams up to densification strain [70].
Figure 8. Compressive stress-strain curves for aluminum foams up to densification strain [70].
Metals 05 01553 g008

3. Results

Since aluminum foams have special advantages such as good heat resistance, higher strength, incombustibility, possibility for easy recycling, and sound and heat absorption, they can become an interesting material for applications in several branches of different industries.
The increasing use of metal foams has driven the development of a wide range of production methods. Low cost is an advantage of production by casting compared to other integral metal foam production methods of complex-shaped parts. The cost of quality metal foam production is high because gas agents are expensive. Different gas production and metal foam production methods are being developed to decrease the final product cost. The information obtained in the studies with gas and cell formation cannot fully explain pore formation, but a number of pore formation theories are available in the literature.
The gas present in liquid metal influences foam formation. Pore size will be larger if there is no particle added to the liquid metal. The porous structure can easily collapse due to the low viscosity of the liquid metal. Ceramic particles such as SiC, Al2O3, and MgO are added to increase viscosity. Thus, adding particles will stop liquid-metal drainage and collapsing pore walls during foaming. The formation will be negatively influenced if the particles exceed a certain amount.

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by Scientific Research Projects 2014.01.0152.001 and 2014.01.0152.002.

Author Contributions

All authors contributed equally to this work. A.G. and M.M.A. conducted the conception and design of the study. M.N. collected the information of different systems.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

References

  1. Peroni, M.; Solomos, G.; Pizzinato, V. Impact Behaviour Testing of Aluminium Foam. Int. J. Impact Eng. 2013, 53, 74–83. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  2. Olurin, O.B.; Fleck, N.A.; Ashby, M.F. Indentation Resistance of an Aluminium Foam. Scr. Mater. 2000, 43, 983–989. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  3. Yang, B.; Tang, L.; Liu, Y.; Liu, Z.; Jiang, Z.; Fang, D. Localized Deformation in Aluminium Foam During Middle Speed Hopkinson Bar Impact Tests. Mater. Sci. Eng. A 2013, 560, 734–743. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  4. McCullough, K.Y.G.; Fleck, N.A.; Ashb, M.F. Uniaxial Stress-Strain Behaviour of Aluminium Alloy Foams. Acta Mater. 1999, 47, 2331–2343. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  5. Yao, Y.; Wu, H.; Liu, Z. A New Prediction Model for the Effective Thermal Conductivity of High Porosity Open-Cell Metal Foams. Int. J. Therm. Sci. 2015, 97, 56–67. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  6. Kanaun, S.; Babaii, K.S. Conductive Properties of Foam Materials with Open or Closed Cells. Int. J. Eng. Sci. 2012, 50, 124–131. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  7. Chen, S.; Bourham, M.; Rabiei, A. Neutrons Attenuation on Composite Metal Foams and Hybrid Open-Cell Al Foam. Radiat. Phys. Chem. 2015, 109, 27–39. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  8. Hartmann, J.; Jüchter, V. FLOW-3D News: Summer Application Note 2012, Department of Mater. Sci., Chair of Metals Science and Technology, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg. Available online: http://www.wtm.uni-erlangen.de (accessed on 24 August 2015).
  9. Kammer, C.; Germany, G. Training in Aluminium Application Technologies (TALAT) Lecture 1410. Available online: http://www.european-aluminium.eu/talat/lectures/1410.pdf (accessed on 24 August 2015).
  10. Wang, F.; Wang, L.-C.; Wu, J.-G.; You, X.-H. Sound Absorption Property of Open-Pore Aluminum Foams. China Foundry Res. Dev. 2007, 4, 31–33. [Google Scholar]
  11. Rivard, J.; Brailovski, V.; Dubinskiy, S.; Prokoshkin, S. Fabrication, Morphology And Mechanical Properties of Ti and Metastable Ti-Based Alloy Foams for Biomedical Applications. Mater. Sci. Eng. C 2014, 25, 421–433. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
  12. Fink, B.K.; Bogetti, T.A.; Gama, B.; Gillespie, J.W.; Yu, C.J.; Claar, T.D.; Eifert, H.H. Application of Aluminum Foam for Stress-Wave Management in Light Weight Composite Integral Armor; Army Research Laboratory: Adelphi, MD, USA, May 2001. [Google Scholar]
  13. Niebylski, L.M.; Jarema, C.P.; Immethun, P.A. Metal Foams and Process Therefor. Patent US 3794481, 26 February 1974. [Google Scholar]
  14. Ruch, W.; Kirkevag, B. A process of manufacturing particle reinforced metal foam and produtct thereof. Patent WO 9101387, 2 February 1991. [Google Scholar]
  15. Lloyd, D.J.; Mcleod, A.D.; Morris, P.L.; Jin, I. Melt process for the production of metal matrix composite materials with enhanced particle/matrix wetting. PCT Patent WO 91/19823, 26 December 1991. [Google Scholar]
  16. Jin, I.; Kenny, L.D.; Sang, H. Method of producing lightweight foamed metal. US Patent 4973358, 27 November 1990. [Google Scholar]
  17. Jin, I.; Kenny, L.D.; Sang, H. Lightweight foamed metal and its production. Patent WO 91/03578, 21 March 1991. [Google Scholar]
  18. Sang, H.; Kenny, L.D.; Jin, I. Process and apparatus for producing shaped slabs of particle stabilized foamed metal. PCT Patent WO 92/21457, 10 December 1992. [Google Scholar]
  19. Shapovalov, V. Method for manufacturing porous articles. US Patent 5181549, 26 January 1993. [Google Scholar]
  20. Thomas, M.; Kenny, L.D. Production of particle-stabilized metal foams. PCT Patent WO 94/017218, 21 January 1994. [Google Scholar]
  21. Kenny, L.D.; Thomas, M. Process and apparatus for shape casting of particle stabilized metal foam. PCT Patent WO 94/09931, 11 May 1994. [Google Scholar]
  22. Simone, A.E.; Gibson, L.J. Aluminum Foams Produced by Liquid-State Processes. Acta Mater. 1998, 46, 3109–3123. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  23. Simone, A.E.; Gibson, L.J. Effects of Solid Distribution on the Stiffness and Strength of Metallic Foams. Acta Mater. 1998, 46, 2139–2150. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  24. Banhart, J.; Seeliger, H. Aluminium Foam Sandwich Panels: Manufacture, Metallurgy and Applications. Adv. Eng. Mater. 2008, 10, 793–802. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  25. Srivastava, V.C.; Sahoo, K.L. Processing, Stabilization and Applications of Metallic Foams. Art of Science. Mater. Sci. Pol. 2007, 25, 733–753. [Google Scholar]
  26. Körner, C.; Hirschmann, M.; Wiehler, H. Integral Foam Moulding of Light Metals. Mater. Trans. 2006, 47, 2188–2194. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  27. Ashby, M.F.; Evans, A.G.; Fleck, N.A.; Gibson, L.J.; Hutchinson, J.W.; Wadley, H.N.G. Making Metal Foams. In Metal Foams: A Design Guide; Butterworth-Heinemann: Woburn, MA, USA, 2000; pp. 6–23. [Google Scholar]
  28. Simančík, F.; Florek, R.; Nosko, M.; Tobolka, P.; Jerz, J.; Kováčik, J. New Trends in Manufacturing of PM Aluminium Foams. In Proceedings of the Materials And Technologies For Lightweight Design, Workshop on Recent Developments in the World of Engineering Materials, Smolenice, Slovakia, 13–14 Decmber 2011.
  29. Miyoshi, T.; Itoh, M.; Akiyama, S.; Kitahara, A. “ALPORAS” Aluminium Foam: Production Process, Properties and Application. Adv. Eng. Mater. 2000, 2, 179–183. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  30. Simančík, F.; Rajner, W.; Laag, R. Alulight—Aluminum Foam for Lightweight Construction. SAE Tech. Pap. Ser. 2000, 1, 0337. [Google Scholar]
  31. Zhang, B.; Kim, T.; Lu, T.J. Analytical Solution for Solidification of Close-Celled Metal Foams. Int. J. Heat Mass Transf. 2009, 52, 133–141. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  32. Mukherjee, M.; Garcia-Moreno, F.; Banhart, J. Solidification of Metal Foams. Acta Mater. 2010, 58, 6358–6370. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  33. Jamshidi-Alashti, R.; Roudini, G. Producing replicated Open Cell Aluminium Foams by a novel method of melt squizing method. Mater. Lett. 2012, 76, 233–236. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  34. Jamshidi-Alashti, R.; Kaskani, M.; Niroumand, B. Semisolid Melt Squeezing Procedure for Production of Open-Cell Al–Si Foams. Mater. Des. 2014, 56, 325–333. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  35. Babcsan, N.; Garcia-Moreno, F.; Banhart, J. Metal foams—High temperature colloids Part II: In Situ Analysis of Metal Foams. Coll. Surf. A 2007, 309, 254–263. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  36. Suematsu, Y.; Hyun, S.; Nakajima, H. Fabrikation of Lotus-Type Porous Nickel Using Moisture in Mould. J. Jpn. Inst. Met. 2004, 68, 257–261. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  37. Yang, C.C.; Nakae, H. The Effects of Viscosity and Cooling Conditions on the Foamability of Aluminum Alloy. J. Mater. Process. Technol. 2003, 141, 202–206. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  38. Banhart, J. Manufacture, Characterisation and Application of Cellular Metals and Metal Foams. Prog. Mater. Sci. 2001, 46, 559–632. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  39. Deqing, W.; Ziyuan, S. Effect of Ceramic Particles on Cell Size and Wall Thickness of Aluminum Foam. Mater. Sci. Eng. A 2003, 361, 45–49. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  40. Goodall, R.; Mortensen, A. 24-Porous Metals. In Physical Metallurgy, 5th ed.; Laughlin, D.E., Hono, K., Eds.; Elsevier: Oxford, UK, 2014; Volume 3, pp. 2399–2595. [Google Scholar]
  41. Ferguson, J.B.; Maria, J.A.S.; Schultz, B.F.; Rohatgi, P.K. Al–Al2O3 Syntactic Foams-Part II: Predicting Mechanical Properties of Metal Matrix Syntactic Foams Reinforced with Ceramic Spheres. Mater. Sci. Eng. A 2013, 582, 423–432. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  42. Xia, X.; Chen, X.; Zhang, Z.; Chen, X.; Zhao, W.M.; Liao, B.; Hur, B. Effects of Porosity and Pore Size on the Compressive Properties of Closed-Cell Mg Alloy Foam. J. Magnes. Alloys 2013, 1, 330–335. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  43. Babcsan, N.; Leitlmeier, D.; Banhart, J. Metal Foams—High Temperature Colloids Part I. Ex situ Analysis of Metal Foams. Coll. Surf. A 2005, 261, 123–130. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  44. Duarte, I.; Banhart, J. A Study of Aluminium Foam Formation—Kinetics and Microstructure. Acta Mater. 2000, 48, 2349–2362. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  45. Von Zeppelin, F.; Hirscher, M.; Stanzick, H.; Banhart, J. Desorption of Hydrogen From Blowing Agents Used for Foaming Metals. Compos. Sci. Technol. 2003, 63, 2293–2300. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  46. Park, C.; Nutt, S.R. PM Synthesis and Properties of Steel Foams. Mater. Sci. Eng. A 2000, 288, 111–118. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  47. Irretier, A.; Banhart, J. Lead and Lead Alloy Foams. Acta Mater. 2005, 53, 4903–4917. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  48. Reglero, J.A.; Solórzano, E.; Rodríguez-Pérez, M.A.; de Saja, J.A.; Porras, E. Design and Testing of an Energy Absorber Prototype Based on Aluminium Foams. Mater. Des. 2010, 31, 3568–3573. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  49. Nakajima, H. Fabrication, Properties and Application of Porous Metals with Directional Pores. Prog. Mater. Sci. 2007, 52, 1091–1173. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  50. Haesche, M.; Lehmhus, D.; Weise, J.; Wichmann, M.; Mocellin, I.C.M. Carbonates as Foaming Agent in Chip-Based Aluminium Foam Precursor. J. Mater. Sci. Technol. 2010, 26, 845–850. [Google Scholar]
  51. Kevorkijan, V. Low Cost Aluminium Foams Made by CaCO3 Particulates. Assoc. Metall. Eng. Serb. 2010, 16, 205–219. [Google Scholar]
  52. Degischer, H.P. Innovative Light Metals: Metal Matrix Composites and Foamed Aluminium. Mater. Des. 1997, 18, 221–226. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  53. Baumeister, J.; Schrader, H.D. Methonds for manufacturing foamable metal body and use the same. German Patent DE 4101630, 12 December 1991. [Google Scholar]
  54. Baumeister, J. Porous metal body prodn.—Involves compaction at low temp. Followed by heating to near melting point of metal. German Patent DE 4018360, 29 May 1990. [Google Scholar]
  55. Baumeister, J.; Schrader, H. Methods for manufacturing foamable metal bodies. US Patent 5151246, 29 September 1992. [Google Scholar]
  56. Schrader, H.; Baumeister, J. Process for making foamed metal bodies. European Patent EP 0460392A1, 11 December 1991. [Google Scholar]
  57. Baumeister, J.; Banhart, J.; Weber, M. Metallic composite material and a method for its production. German Patent DE 4426627, 2 February 1995. [Google Scholar]
  58. Baumgärtner, F.; Duarte, I.; Banhart, J. Industrialization of powder compact foaming. Adv. Eng. Mater. 2000, 2, 168–174. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  59. Banhart, J. Metal Foams—From Fundamental Research to Applications. In Frontiers in the Design of Materials; Raj, B., Ranganathan, S., Bhanusankararao, K., Matthew, M.D., Shankar, P., Eds.; Universities Press Limited: Telangana, India, 2007; pp. 279–289. [Google Scholar]
  60. Stanzick, H.; Wichmann, M.; Weise, J.; Banhart, J.; Helfen, L.; Baumbach, T. Process control in aluminium foam production using real-time X-ray radioscopy. Adv. Eng. Mater. 2000, 4, 814–823. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  61. Bum, K.T.; Tane, M.; Suzuki, S.; Utsunomiyab, H.; Ide, T.; Nakajima, H. Strength and Pore Morphology of Porous Aluminum and Porous Copper with Directional Pores Deformed By Equal Channel Angular Extrusion. Mater. Sci. Eng. A 2011, 528, 2363–2369. [Google Scholar]
  62. Ye, J.; Jiang, L.; Li, Z.; Liu, X.; Wang, S.; Li, X. Numerical Analysis of Heat and Mass Transfer During Absorption Of Hydrogen in Metal Hydride Based Hydrogen Storage Tanks. Int. J. Hydrog. Energy 2010, 35, 8216–8224. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  63. Kuznetsov, A.V.; Vafai, K. Development and Investigation of Three-Phase Model of the Mushy Zone For Analysis of Porosity Formation In Solidifying Castings. Int. J. Heat Mass Transf. 1995, 38, 2557–2567. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  64. Pinto, P.; Peixinho, N.; Silva, F.; Soares, D. Compressive Properties and Energy Absorption of Aluminum Foams with Modified Cellular Geometry. J. Mater. Process. Technol. 2014, 214, 571–577. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  65. Kumar, S.; Kumar, P.; Shan, H.S. Effect of evaporative Pattern Casting Process Parameters on the Surface Roughness of Al-7% Si alloy castings. J. Mater. Process. Technol. 2007, 182, 615–623. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  66. Cingi, C.; Niini, E.; Orkas, J. Foamed aluminum parts by investment casting. Coll. Surf. A 2009, 344, 113–117. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  67. Mukherjee, M.; Garcia-Moreno, F.; Banhart, J. Defect Generation during Solidification of Aluminium Foams. Scr. Mater. 2010, 63, 235–238. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  68. Xia, X.; Zhao, W.; Feng, X.; Feng, H.; Zhang, X. Effect of Homogenizing Heat Treatment on the Compressive Properties of Closed-Cell Mg Alloy Foams. Mater. Des. 2013, 49, 19–24. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  69. Jeenager, V.K.; Pancholi, V. Influence of Cell Wall Microstructure on the Energy Absorbtion Capability of Aluminium Foam. Mater. Des. 2014, 56, 454–459. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
  70. Andrews, E.; Sanders, W.; Gibson, L.J. Compressive and Tensile Behaviour of Aluminum Foams. Mater. Sci. Eng. A 1999, 270, 113–124. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Güner, A.; Arıkan, M.M.; Nebioglu, M. New Approaches to Aluminum Integral Foam Production with Casting Methods. Metals 2015, 5, 1553-1565. https://doi.org/10.3390/met5031553

AMA Style

Güner A, Arıkan MM, Nebioglu M. New Approaches to Aluminum Integral Foam Production with Casting Methods. Metals. 2015; 5(3):1553-1565. https://doi.org/10.3390/met5031553

Chicago/Turabian Style

Güner, Ahmet, Mustafa Merih Arıkan, and Mehmet Nebioglu. 2015. "New Approaches to Aluminum Integral Foam Production with Casting Methods" Metals 5, no. 3: 1553-1565. https://doi.org/10.3390/met5031553

Article Metrics

Back to TopTop