Methods for the production of metallic foams

Metallic foams can be produced by several methods including powder metallurgy, casting and deposition techniques. The various methods are described and analysed. Obviously a powder metallurgical approach exhibits a high potential for manufacturing foamed shaped parts. This approach also can be used to produce composite materials made of conventional and foamed metals. The mechanical properties of foamed aluminium prepared by several different methods are compared. Based on the available data the dependence of mechanical properties on the apparent density is analysed. The types of dependence found are compared to the predictions of a theoretical model. From the properties of foamed metals the potential applications are derived