Metal Foams A Design Guide

This work offers a description of how metal foams are made, listing applications which have been suggested. It also covers how metal foams can be cut, finished and joined, and includes case studies illustrating successful and potential applications.

Metal foams are at the forefront of technological development for the automotive, aerospace, and other weight-dependent industries. They are formed by various methods, but the key facet of their manufacture is the inclusion of air or other gaseous pockets in the metal structure. The fact that gas pockets are present in their structure provides an obvious weight advantage over traditionally cast or machined solid metal components. The unique structure of metal foams also opens up more opportunities to improve on more complex methods of producing parts with space inclusions such as sand-casting. This guide provides information on the advantages metal foams possess, and the applications for which they may prove suitable. Offers a concise description of metal foams, their manufacture, and their advantages in industry Provides engineers with answers to pertinent questions surrounding metal foams Satisfies a major need in the market for information on the properties, performance, and applications of these materials

This book offers the first full-scale technical treatment of an important class of engineered porous materials: metal foams. Written by a team of metal foam experts from around the world, the volume offers new, as well as fundamental, information on all aspects of metal foams, including their theory, manufacture, structure-property relationships and applications. The book explains microscopy and modeling tools that enhance the prediction and determination of metal foam properties related to fluid flow, heat transfer, sound absorption and failure analysis. Attention is given to the many techniques for manufacturing and testing metal foams and to how their microstructure can be controlled to create custom properties for applications in acoustics, bone implants, heat sinks, lightweighting and crash protection. The text is sufficiently detailed to offer guidance to design and development engineers, and yet is basic enough to be used as a textbook or reference by students of materials science, mechanical, structural or chemical engineering requiring an introduction to the subject.

Polymeric Foams Structure–Property–Performance: A Design Guide is a response to the design challenges faced by engineers in a growing market with evolving standards, new regulations, and an ever-increasing variety of application types for polymeric foam. Bernard Obi, an author with wide experience in testing, characterizing, and applying polymer foams, approaches this emerging complexity with a practical design methodology that focuses on understanding the relationship between structure–properties of polymeric foams and their performance attributes. The book not only introduces the fundamentals of polymer and foam science and engineering, but also goes more in-depth, covering foam processing, properties, and uses for a variety of applications. By connecting the diverse technologies of polymer science to those from foam science, and by linking both micro- and macrostructure–property relationships to key performance attributes, the book gives engineers the information required to solve pressing design problems involving the use of polymeric foams and to optimize foam performance. With a focus on applications in the automotive and transportation industries, as well as uses of foams in structural composites for lightweight applications, the author provides numerous case studies and design examples of real-life industrial problems from various industries and their solutions. Provides the science and engineering fundamentals relevant for solving polymer foam application problems Offers an exceptionally practical methodology to tackle the increasing complexity of real-world design challenges faced by engineers working with foams Discusses numerous case studies and design examples, with a focus on automotive and transportation Utilizes a practical design methodology focused on understanding the relationship between structure-properties of polymeric foams and their performance attributes

This volume contains the proceedings of the 2000 International Congress of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics. The book captures a snapshot view of the state of the art in the field of mechanics and will be invaluable to engineers and scientists from a variety of disciplines.