Metal matrix syntactic foams have been fabricated via counter-gravity infiltration of a packed bed of recycled expanded glass particles (EG) with A356 aluminum alloy. Particle shrinkage was studied and has been utilized to increase the particles' strength and tailor the mechanical properties of the expanded glass/metal syntactic foam (EG-MSF). The crushing strength of particles could be doubled...

Foams offer extremely large surface area per unit mass, making them competitive material for heat exchangers and energy storage systems. Understanding the influence of foam characteristics, i.e., size, distribution concentration pores, ligament defects as well architecture, on thermal transport is important when designing foam-based devices. In this article, we present effective conductivity op...

Investigations of pore coalescence and individual cell wall collapse in an expanding liquid metal foam by means of X-ray radioscopy with spatio-temporal micro-resolution are reported. By using white synchrotron radiation for imaging, the rupture of a film and the subsequent merger of two neighbouring bubbles could be recorded with a time sampling rate of 40000 frames s(-1) (25 micros exposure t...

Recent nanomechanical tests on submicron metal columns and wires have revealed a dramatic increase in yield strength with decreasing sample size. Here, we demonstrate that nanoporous metal foams can be envisioned as a three-dimensional network of ultrahigh-strength nanowires, thus bringing together two seemingly conflicting properties: high strength and high porosity. Specifically, we character...

Related Articles Method of extreme surfaces for optimizing geometry of acousto-optic interactions in crystalline materials: Example of LiNbO3 crystals J. Appl. Phys. 113, 083103 (2013) Photothermal model fitting in the complex plane for thermal properties determination in solids Rev. Sci. Instrum. 84, 024903 (2013) Transient lattice distortion induced by ultrashort heat pulse propagation throug...

In this paper, we present our recent experimental results on buoyancy-induced convection in aluminum metal foams of different pore densities [corresponding to 5, 10, 20, and 40 pores per in. (PPI)] and porosities (0.89–0.96). The results show that compared to a heated surface, the heat transfer coefficients in these heat sinks are five to six times higher. However, when compared to commercially...

A newly simplified microstructure model of metal foams was carried out for flow boiling heat transfer in metal-foam filled tube. Fin analysis, heat transfer network and superposition correlation were adopted to obtain the equivalent heat transfer coefficient for flow boiling. Based on annular pattern, fluid can be divided into vapor region in the center of the tube and liquid region near the wa...

We present a study on the apparent thermal resistance of metal foams as a thermal interface in electronics cooling applications. Metal foams are considered beneficial for several applications due to its significantly large surface area for a given volume. Porous heat sinks made of aluminum foam have been well studied in the past. It is not only cost effective due to the unique production proces...