Dissemination of IT for the Promotion of Materials Science (DoITPoMS)

DoITPoMS Micrograph Library Full Record for Micrograph 631

Full Record for Micrograph 631

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Micrograph no
631
Brief description
Coarse open celled aluminium foam produced by infiltration of sintered salt (FOAM-U-LIKE)
Keywords
alloy Link to MATTER Glossary entry for alloy, aluminium Link to MATTER Glossary entry for aluminium, aluminium foam, angular, cell Link to MATTER Glossary entry for cell, composite foam, composite material Link to MATTER Glossary entry for composite material, foam Link to MATTER Glossary entry for foam, infiltration, metal, salt
Categories
Foam, Metal or alloy, Metal or alloy composite foam
System
Al
Composition
Not specified
Standard codes
Reaction
Processing
A precursor of lightly sintered salt is infiltrated with molten aluminium in a press and then washed out
Applications
Open cell aluminium foams may be useful as surfaces for catalysts or electrochemical applications. They are also used in heat exchangers.
Sample preparation
Technique
Photography (no microscope)
Length bar
6 mm
Further information
FOAM-U-LIKE (Foaming of aluminium metal using lightly interconnected kevelled elements) is a very inexpensive route for the production of coarse open celled foams. It allows a reasonable degree of control over cell size and shape, and results in relatively uniform morphology. The interconnectivity of pores can be controlled by varying the degree of sintering of the precursor. In this case, grains of 1-4mm diameter have been sintered at 600 degrees C for just 10 minutes, giving rise to lightly interconnected, angular pores. Wash out is slow, and can be improved by longer sintering which gives thicker necks between salt grains and hence more interconnection of pores in the reticulated structure.
Contributor
J A Curran
Organisation
Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy, University of Cambridge
Date
03/10/02
Licence for re-use
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International