Prediction of compressive properties of closed-cell aluminum foam using artificial neural network

The design of artificial neural network (ANN) is motivated by analogy of highly complex, non-linear and parallel computing power of the brain. Once a neural network is significantly trained it can predict the output results in the same knowledge domain. In the present work, ANN models are developed for the simulation of compressive properties of closed-cell aluminum foam: plateau stress, Young’s modulus and energy absorption capacity. The input variables for these models are relative density, average pore diameter and cell anisotropy ratio. Database of these properties are the results of the compression tests carried out on aluminum foams at a constant strain rate of 1 × 10⁻³ s⁻¹. The prediction accuracy of all the three models is found to be satisfactory. This work has shown the excellent capability of artificial neural network approach for the simulation of the compressive properties of closed-cell aluminum foam.     

Fabrication of ferrous metallic foams by reduction of ceramic foam precursors

A process has been developed for obtaining closed cell metallic foams using a ceramic foam precursor. In the present study, the major constituent of the ceramic foam precursor was iron oxide (Fe₂O₃), which was mixed with various foaming/setting additives. The mixture set rapidly at room temperature, stabilizing the foam generated by hydrogen release. The oxide foam was then reduced by annealing at 1240^∘C in a non-flammable hydrogen/inert gas mixture to obtain a metallic foam with a relative density of 0.23 ± 0.017, and an average cell diameter of 1.32 ± 0.32 mm. The iron foams were tested in compression and yielded an average compressive strength of 29 ± 7 MPa. The compressive stress-strain curves obtained were typical of cellular metals. The normalized strengths of the metal foams obtained in the present study compare favorably with those of steel foams produced by other techniques.     

Properties of chopped carbon fiber reinforced carbon foam composites

A novel kind of carbon foam reinforced carbon-carbon composite with high density and mechanical properties was produced by densifying carbon foam preforms enhanced by chopped carbon fibers. The mechanical properties and densification efficiency of this composite could be improved by adding of fibers. The highest density of this composite could reach 1.5 g/cm³. The compressive strength increased by 38.9%, 66.7% and 29.4% when the additive amount of chopped fibers was 1%, 3% and 5% (wt.%) respectively. SEM observation showed that when the additive amount of fibers reached 5%, micro-cracks appeared in carbon foam preforms and resulted in the decrease in compressive strength of composite no. 4.     

Closed cell ZA27–SiC foam made through stir-casting technique

Closed cell zinc aluminum alloy (ZA27)–SiC composite foam has been synthesized using conventional stir-casting technique and CaH₂ as foaming agent. The synthesized foams are characterized in terms of its micro-architectural characteristics and deformation responses under compressive loading. It is observed that ZA27–SiC foams could be easily foamed without any difficulty. The density of the developed foam ranges from 0.25 gm/cc to 0.45 gm/cc due to the variation of CaH₂ percentage. The plateau stress and energy absorption of these foams follow power law relationship with relative density. Wherein, the densification strain follows a linear relationship with the relative density.     

Mesophase AR pitch derived carbon foam: Effect of temperature, pressure and pressure release time

For the carbon foam production, mesophase pitch pellets are heated up in a reactor in an aluminum mold to specified pressures and finally pressure released to obtain green carbon foam samples. The green foams were then stabilized and carbonized. The effects of various temperatures, pressures and pressure release times on production of carbons foams are investigated. The samples are subjected to SEM, mechanical testing, mercury porosimetry analysis and bulk density determination for characterization. For the processing temperatures of 553, 556, 566 and 573 K, the densities of the foams produced were 380, 390, 410 and 560 kg/m³ respectively. The compressive strengths of the respective samples were increased from 1.47, to 3.31 MPa for the lowest and highest temperatures. The processing pressures were 3.8, 5.8, 6.8 and 7.8 MPa. The bulk density and the compressive strength of the carbon foams produced were changed from 500 to 580 kg/m³, and 1.87 to 3.52 MPa for the lowest and highest pressures respectively. Pressure release times of 5 s, 80 s, 160 s and 600 s are used to produce different carbon foam samples. The densities and the comprehensive strengths measured for the highest and lowest pressure release times changed from 560 to 240 kg/m³ and 3.31 to 2.16 MPa respectively. The pore size distribution of all of the products changed between 0.052×10^-6m and 120×10^-6m. Increase in temperature and pressure increased the bulk density and compressive strength of the carbon foams. The mercury porosimetry results show % porosity increase with increasing temperature and pressure. On the other hand, increase in pressure release time decreased the bulk density, compressive strength of the carbon foam.     

Processing of sucrose to low density carbon foams

A novel process for preparation low density carbon foams from sucrose has been demonstrated. A resin prepared by heating aqueous acidic sucrose solution when heated in an open Teflon mould at 120 °C undergoes foaming and then setting in to a solid organic foam. The solid organic foam undergoes carbonization in air by dehydration at 250 °C under isothermal condition. Carbon foams thus obtained sintered at temperature in the range 600–1,400 °C showed density in the range 115–145 mg/cc and electrical conductivity in the range 1.5 × 10⁻⁵ to 0.2 ohm⁻¹ cm⁻¹, respectively. The carbon foams contain spherical cells of size in the range 450–850 μm and the cells are interconnected through circular or oval shape windows of size in the range 80–300 μm. The carbon foam samples sintered at 1,400 °C showed compressive strength of 0.89 MPa.     

Effect of strain rate and density on dynamic behaviour of syntactic foam

The final objective of this study is to improve the mechanical behaviour of composite sandwich structures under dynamic loading (impact or crash). Cellular materials are often used as core in sandwich structures and their behaviour has a significant influence on the response of the sandwich under impact. Syntactic foams are widely used in many impact-absorbing applications and can be employed as sandwich core. To optimize their mechanical performance requires the characterisation of the foam behaviour at high strain rates and identification of the underlying mechanisms.Mechanical tests were conducted on syntactic foams under quasi-static and high strain rate compression loading. The material behaviour has been determined as a function of two parameters, density and strain rate. These tests were complemented by experiments on a new device installed on a flywheel. This device was designed in order to achieve compression tests on foam at intermediate strain rates. With these test machines, the dynamic compressive behaviour has been evaluated in the strain rate range up [6.7 · 10⁻⁴ s⁻¹, 100 s⁻¹].Impact tests were conducted on syntactic foam plates with varying volume fractions of microspheres and impact conditions. A Design of Experiment tool was employed to identify the influence of the three parameters (microsphere volume fraction, projectile mass and height of fall) on the energy response. Microtomography was employed to visualize in 3D the deformation of the structure of hollow spheres to obtain a better understanding of the micromechanisms involved in energy absorption.     

Effect of processing parameters on cell structure of an aluminum foam

A closed cell aluminum foam with the same composition but different cell sizes and structures was prepared by changing air injection rate and impeller speed during foaming process to study the influence of air injection rate and impeller speed on cell structure. The foams prepared under the foaming conditions are characterized as roughly equiaxed polyhedral cells with density range of 0.1–0.22 g/cm³ and cell diameter of 4–11 mm with different cell wall thickness and Plateau border size. Cell size of the aluminum foam is increased with increasing air injection rate, and higher impeller speed results in a much smaller cell size at given air injection rate. Cell wall thickness and Plateau border size of the aluminum foams are decreased with the increase in cell size. Moreover, the higher impeller speed produces smaller size of the foam cells with thicker cell wall and Plateau border size, resulted in higher density foam in contrast to the foam with the same cell size prepared at lower impeller speed.     

Fabrication and investigation of influence of CaCO3 as foaming agent on Al-SiCp foam

Closed cell aluminum foams have been used in various disciplines of engineering. Aluminum foams provide high strength with the advantage of low weight. In the current research, CaCO₃ is used as a foaming agent for producing closed-cell aluminum foams. For the fabrication of homogenous foam, optimization of process parameters was done. The effect of SiC as a thickening agent on structural property of foams viz. density and porosity have been inspected. Foams with density 0.40–0.86 g/cm³ were produced. The produced foams were studied under axial compression tests for evaluating mechanical properties. It can be inferred from the results that by adding 3 wt.% CaCO₃, the uniform viscosity of melt was achieved and a homogeneous foam structure is achieved with optimum porosity. Also, 5 wt.% addition of CaCO₃ in melt and stirring speed at 1400 rpm tend to increase porosity and decrease cell wall thickness. The optimum values for thickening agent SiC, foaming agent CaCO₃ at stirring speed 1400 rpm were found out to be 15 wt.%, 3 wt.%. The effect of relative density, the addition of thickening and foaming agent is studied.     

Structure and mechanics of cement foams

Lightweight cellular concretes have been available for a number of years. They are made by adding aluminium powder to the cement mix or by introducing a foaming agent to a cement slurry. Materials with densities in the range 320–1600 kgm^–3 are commonly available commercially; they are used for insulated concrete roof-deck systems, masonry blocks, cladding panels and engineered fills for geotechnical applications. Their unique set of properties make them attractive as a foam core material for structural sandwich panels: they have moderate thermal insulation, high heat capacity, high stiffness, excellent fire resistance and low cost relative to polymer foams. The structure and mechanical behaviour of cellular cements ranging in density from 160–1600 kg m^–3 are described.     

Development of rigid bio-based polyurethane foam reinforced with nanoclay

Integration of organic nanoclay into bio-based polyurethane (PU) foam is a promising alternative to enhance the foam’s properties via green technology. In this paper, modified diaminopropane montmorillonite (DAP-MMT) nanoclay was introduced into palm oil-based PU foam at different weight loadings, namely, 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 wt.%, in order to investigate the effects on the mechanical and thermal properties of the foam. Several tests and characterizations were carried out to study the surface morphology, density, compressive strength and thermal stability of the foam. It was found that foam exhibited an exfoliated or intercalated microstructure based on the DAP-MMT contents. The X-ray diffraction analysis showed that below 4 wt.%, the foams displayed exfoliated structures while beyond the value, the foams exhibited the intercalated morphologies. Closed cells with different cell sizes were observed when the DAP-MMT contents were varied. Meanwhile, thermal stability and compressive strength of foams increased with increasing DAP-MMT contents up to 4 wt.%, as shown by thermogravimetry analysis and compression test, respectively.     

Microstructure and mechanical properties of carbon foams and fibers reinforced carbon composites densified by CLVI and pitch impregnation

Carbon foams and fibers reinforced carbon composites were prepared using chemical liquid-vaporized infiltration and pitch impregnation. The microstructure and mechanical properties of the composites were investigated. The results showed that the final density of these samples was in a range of 1.34–1.45 g/cm³. The pores in carbon foams were filled with pyrocarbon and pitch carbon. The flexural and tensile strength of the composites increased gradually with increasing the content of carbon fibers, whereas the compressive stress went up to a maximum value of 35.9 MPa at the fiber content of 7%.     

Compressive properties of aluminum foam produced by powder-Carbamide spacer route

Effects of cell shape and size, and relative density of aluminum foam on its compressive behavior have been investigated. Aluminum foams were produced via aluminum powder-Carbamide spacer route. The results show that angular cells significantly reduce mechanical properties of the foam. They also indicate that compressive properties of the foams, including plateau stress (σ_pl), densification strain (ε_D), and energy absorption, increase by cell size and relative density of the foams. Experimental results were compared with theoretical predictions; they were fairly corresponded to theoretical conceptions; this arises from near-ideal architecture of the foams with almost spherical cells, in this study. Constant values of C, n and α in theoretical modulus and densification strain equations wear calculated as 1.22, 2.09 and 0.95, respectively. The values indicate compressive behavior approaches to ideal morphology foam via employing spherical space holder.     

Cell structure and compressive behavior of an aluminum foam

The plastic collapse strength, energy absorption and elastic modulus of a closed cell aluminum foam are studied in relation to cell structures. The density, node size and the cell wall thickness of the aluminum foams decrease with increasing cell size. The failure of the foam cells under compressive load progresses successively from the top or/and bottom to the mid-layer of the compression specimens, and no initial rupture of the foam cells is observed in the mid-height of the foam samples. When foam density increases from 0.11 to 0.22 g/cm ³, the plastic collapse strength rises from 0.20 to 1.29 MPa, while the elastic modulus of the closed cell aluminum foam increases from 0.70 to 1.17 GPa. In contrast, the energy absorption of the foams decreases rapidly with increasing cell size. When cell size increases from 4.7 to 10.1 mm, the energy absorption drops from over unity to 0.3 J/cm ³. The normalized Yong’s modulus of the closed cell aluminum foam is E^*/E_s = 0.208 (ρ^*/ρ_s), while the normalized strength of the foams, σ */σ_s is expressed by σ */σ_s = c ⋅ ρ */ρ_s where c is a density-dependent parameter. Furthermore, the plastic collapse strength and energy absorption ability of the closed cell aluminum foams are significantly improved by reducing cell size of the aluminum foams having the same density.     

应用于包装领域的明胶泡沫性能研究

目的 制作和表征基于明胶的生物基可堆肥降解泡沫材料,并应用于包装领域。方法 明胶泡沫通过机械发泡和在周围环境中干燥制成。研究明胶含量、表面活性剂含量以及发泡温度对泡沫最大发泡倍率(MER)、收缩、密度、结构以及压缩性能的影响。此外,研究不同明胶含量样品的导热率。结果 研究的3个因素对泡沫性能和结构有显著影响。MER值和收缩是黏度相关,并极大地影响泡沫密度、力学性能以及热导率。增加明胶含量制造出了密度和压缩强度更高的泡沫(由于MER值更低)。表面活性剂质量分数从0.75%增加到1.5%由于发泡性提升造成泡沫密度轻微下降。然而,进一步将表面活性剂质量分数提升至3%造成黏度显著增加、MER值下降,从而导致泡沫密度增加。更高的发泡温度可以得到更高的MER,但是由于液态泡沫稳定时间更长,收缩程度更大,泡沫密度更大。结论 明胶泡沫展现出作为低密度传统塑料泡沫(密度小于30 kg/m³)环保替代品极具潜力的性能。研究成功实现了明胶泡沫的低热导率〔0.038～0.039 W/(m.K)〕和相对较低的收缩程度。     

FE modeling of the compressive behavior of porous copper-matrix nanocomposites

Compressive mechanical test and numerical simulation via finite element modeling have been employed on closed-cell copper-matrix nanocomposite foams reinforced by alumina particles. The FE analysis' purpose was to model the foam deformation behavior under compressive loading and to investigate the correlation between material characteristics and the compressive mechanical behavior. Exploring this, several foam samples with different conditions were manufactured and compression test was carried out on the samples. Scanning electron microscopy and image analysis have been performed on the foam samples to obtain the required data for the numerical simulation. The stress–strain curves exhibited plateau stress between 18 and 112.5 MPa and energy absorption in the range of 20.03–51.20 MJ/m³ for the foams with different relative densities. The foams exhibited enhanced mechanical properties to an optimum value, as a consequence of increasing the reinforcing nanoparticles, through both experimental tests and numerical simulation data. Also, the validated model of copper-matrix nanocomposite foams has been used to probe stress distribution in the foams. In addition, the results obtained by numerical simulation via ABAQUS CAE finite element modeling provided support for experimental test results. This confirmed that FEM is a favorable technique for predicting mechanical properties of nanocomposite copper foams.     

Physical and cytocompatibility properties of bioactive glass–polyvinyl alcohol–sodium alginate biocomposite foams prepared via sol–gel processing for trabecular bone regeneration

In the present work, biocomposite foams of bioactive glass along with polyvinyl alcohol and sodium alginate are designed and developed as a potential biomaterial for bone regeneration. These biocomposite foams have a low density of 0.92 g/cm³, providing desired property for bone tissue engineering applications. Biocomposite foams were prepared via surfactant foaming. Scanning electron microscopic characterization revealed pore size of 200–500 μm of the biocomposite foams. When these materials were incubated in simulated body fluid, hydroxyapatite layer formation was observed on the material surface. To confirm the cell viability and proliferation on these materials, MTT [3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide] assay was performed with NIH 3T3 fibroblast cells and the results revealed good biocompatibility with the biocomposite foams. Cell adhesion studies further confirmed the biocompatibility of the scaffolds via cell attachment and ECM production. The optimally synthesized biocomposite foams had a good combination of physical properties with compressive strength of 1.64 MPa and elastic modulus of 18 MPa. In view of the favorable combination of physical and biological properties, the newly developed materials are considered to be suitable for regeneration of trabecular bone.     

A porous carbon foam prepared from liquefied birch sawdust

Carbon foam was prepared by submitting birch sawdust to liquefaction, resinification, foaming, carbonization, and activation steps. The foam was characterized by TG and DTG, XRD, SEM, and nitrogen adsorption at 77 K. A mechanism for the formation of the porous carbon foam was proposed. Solid non-graphitized lightweight carbon foams with specific surface areas of 534–555 m²/g and cell sizes of 100–200 μm were obtained, depending on the carbonization or activation temperature used. The intermediate liquefied birch-based resin foam exhibits thermal stability superior to liquefied wood and inferior to phenolic resin, and decomposes rapidly in two stages, at 285.7 and 412.9 °C, respectively. Further activation of the carbon foam in a stream of nitrogen above 800 °C improves the pore structure and homogeneity of the cell size significantly. The matrix of the foams contains a large number of micropores, and the microstructure becomes more ordered as the activation temperature is increased.     

Mechanical characterization of dense calcium phosphate bioceramics with interconnected porosity

Porous hydroxyapatite/tricalcium phosphate (HA/TCP) bioceramics were fabricated by a novel technique of vacuum impregnation of reticulated polymeric foams with ceramic slip. The samples had approximately 5–10% interconnected porosity and controlled pore sizes appropriate to allow bone ingrowth, combined with good mechanical properties. A range of polyurethane foams with 20, 30 and 45 pores per inch (ppi) were used as templates to produce samples for testing. The foams were inpregnated with solid loadings in the range of 60–140 wt%. The results indicated that the average apparent density of the HA/TCP samples was 2.48 g/cm³, the four-point bending strength averaged 16.98 MPa, the work of fracture averaged 15.46 J/m² and the average compressive strength was 105.56 MPa. A range of mechanical properties resulted from the various combinations of different grades of PU foam and the solid loading of slips. The results indicated that it is possible to manufacture open pore HA/TCP bioceramics, with compressive strengths comparable to human bone, which could be of significant clinical interest.     

Tailoring properties of reticulated vitreous carbon foams with tunable density

Reticulated vitreous carbon (RVC) foams were manufactured by multiple replications of a polyurethane foam template structure using ethanolic solutions of phenolic resin. The aims were to create an algorithm of fine tuning the precursor foam density and ensure an open-cell reticulated porous structure in a wide density range. The precursor foams were pyrolyzed in inert atmospheres at 700°C, 1100°C and 2000°C, and RVC foams with fully open cells and tunable bulk densities within 0.09–0.42 g/cm³ were synthesized. The foams were characterized in terms of porous structure, carbon lattice parameters, mechanical properties, thermal conductivity, electric conductivity, and corrosive resistance. The reported manufacturing approach is suitable for designing the foam microstructure, including the strut design with a graded microstructure.