Characterization and Applications of Composite Metal Foams

Composite Metal Foam (CMF) is a light-weight high-energy absorption material which is manufactured by packing steel hollow spheres and filling the interstitial spaces between spheres with a solid metallic matrix. This is achieved by either casting aluminum through gravity casting or by sintering steel powder via powder metallurgy technique. The solid matrix surrounding the spheres provides reinforcement of the sphere walls, allowing great specific strength and large amount of energy absorption of this material and resulting in the strongest metal foam to date. The sphere chemical and morphological properties have a direct effect on the structural and mechanical properties of composite foams, so these effects need to be investigated. In addition, CMF has proven to be a good candidate for applications where high energy absorption under impact is needed, such as crumple zones in vehicles or ballistic protection. The effects of strain rate on CMF must also be investigated to understand the behavior of the material under dynamic loading for these types of applications.;In this study, aluminum--steel Composite metal foams (Al-S CMF) are manufactured using steel hollow spheres, with a variety of sphere carbon content, surface roughness, and wall porosity, embedded in an aluminum matrix through gravity casting technique. (Abstract shortened by ProQuest.).