Hassan Ahmed, Alnaser Ibrahim Abdullah
Department of Mechanical Engineering, King Saud University, Riyadh, 11451 Saudi Arabia.
ACS Omega. 2024 Feb 5;9(6):6280-6295. doi: 10.1021/acsomega.3c08613. eCollection 2024 Feb 13.
Metallic foam is a popular topic due to its diverse industrial applications and unique combination of properties. Metallic foam is significantly lighter than nonfoam metal materials due to its porous structure, which incorporates a substantial amount of air or voids. This lower density makes metallic foam advantageous in applications in which weight reduction is critical. This makes it ideal for the aerospace, automotive, and construction industries; also, its versatile nature continues to make it an attractive material for various industrial applications such as impact absorbers, heat exchangers, and biomedical and marine engineering. However, the choice between metallic foam and nonfoam metal also depends on other factors like mechanical properties, cost, and specific application requirements. This review describes various fabrication methods of metallic foam that include the liquid metallurgy route which uses liquid or semiliquid metal, the powder metallurgy route uses metal in powder form, metal ion, and the metal vapor route which uses electrolytic deposition method to produce metallic foam. These methods include direct gas injection, adding blowing agents in solid or liquid metals, investment casting, the addition of a space holder in the precursor, metallic ion, vapor deposition on a polymer sponge, and many more. The morphology of metallic foam depends upon the method that is chosen for fabrication, and up to 98% porosity can be achieved by these methods. Additive manufacturing for metallic foam fabrication is an emerging field based on selective laser melting and electron beam melting principles. It has exceptional possibilities for generating complicated 3D shapes and customizing the material characteristics. The main purpose of this review article is to give significant insights into the various production procedures for metallic foams to researchers, engineers, and industry experts, assisting in the selection of acceptable methods depending on individual application needs. This review investigates the manufacturing conditions for metallic foams and finally discusses their advantages, drawbacks, and obstacles in mass production. The findings add to current efforts to expand metallic foam technology and encourage its wider application across diverse sectors, opening the path for future research and development.
金属泡沫因其多样的工业应用和独特的性能组合而成为一个热门话题。由于其多孔结构，金属泡沫比非泡沫金属材料轻得多，这种结构包含大量的空气或空隙。这种较低的密度使得金属泡沫在减轻重量至关重要的应用中具有优势。这使其成为航空航天、汽车和建筑行业的理想选择；此外，其多功能性使其继续成为各种工业应用（如冲击吸收器、热交换器以及生物医学和海洋工程）中具有吸引力的材料。然而，在金属泡沫和非泡沫金属之间做出选择还取决于其他因素，如机械性能、成本和特定的应用要求。本综述描述了金属泡沫的各种制造方法，包括使用液态或半液态金属的液态冶金路线、使用粉末状金属的粉末冶金路线、金属离子路线以及使用电解沉积法生产金属泡沫的金属蒸汽路线。这些方法包括直接气体注入、在固态或液态金属中添加发泡剂、熔模铸造、在前体中添加占位剂、金属离子、在聚合物海绵上进行气相沉积等等。金属泡沫的形态取决于所选择的制造方法，通过这些方法可以实现高达98%的孔隙率。基于选择性激光熔化和电子束熔化原理的金属泡沫增材制造是一个新兴领域。它在生成复杂的三维形状和定制材料特性方面具有特殊的可能性。这篇综述文章的主要目的是为研究人员、工程师和行业专家提供关于金属泡沫各种生产工艺的重要见解，帮助根据个人应用需求选择合适的方法。本综述研究了金属泡沫的制造条件，最后讨论了它们在大规模生产中的优点、缺点和障碍。这些发现有助于当前扩大金属泡沫技术的努力，并鼓励其在不同领域更广泛的应用，为未来的研究和开发开辟道路。
