Metal Foam Composite Modelling: WSU Master Project Report 2019

This report, submitted for the Master Project 2 in the School of Computing, Engineering and Mathematics at Western Sydney University, presents a detailed study on metal foam composite modelling. The research encompasses the introduction of metal foams, their manufacturing methods, properties (including mechanical, thermal, and electrical), and applications. The report includes a comprehensive literature review, methodology, results and analysis, and conclusions. The methodology section details the thermal conductivity in relation to density and reinforcement percentage, along with the rule of physical mixture. The results and analysis section presents the mechanical and thermal properties of various metal foams, with detailed discussions and comparisons. The report also explores simulation methods used in metal foams and concludes with a summary of the findings and recommendations for future research. The report uses tables and figures to support the analysis, and the referencing is done using the Harvard Referencing Style.

Metal Foam Composite Modelling Title of the Research Project
<Student Name>
<Student Number>
A report submitted for
300598 Master Project 2
in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of
Master of Engineering
Supervisor: <XXX>
School of Computing, Engineering and Mathematics
Western Sydney University
June 2019
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ABSTRACT
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT.....................................................................................................................................2
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS...............................................................................................................3
TABLE OF CONTENTS.................................................................................................................4
LIST OF TABLES...........................................................................................................................6
LIST OF FIGURES.........................................................................................................................7
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................................8
Introduction:.................................................................................................................................8
Methods of Manufacturing Metal Foams.....................................................................................8
Metal Form Properties...............................................................................................................10
Thermal properties.................................................................................................................11
Electrical properties...............................................................................................................12
Other Mathematical Formulas....................................................................................................12
Thermal conductivity.............................................................................................................12
Viscosity model......................................................................................................................14
Physical mixture rule.................................................................................................................15
Nano particles Properties...........................................................................................................16
Foam Selection of Materials......................................................................................................16
Foam Profile Property................................................................................................................17
Foam Yield Phenomenon.......................................................................................................17
Foam Specimen Fatigue Testing............................................................................................17
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Foam Specimen Creep Test...................................................................................................18
Vibration absorption..............................................................................................................18
Cutting and Joining Operations..............................................................................................18
Metal Form Cost Analysis.........................................................................................................18
Simulation Methods used in Metal Foams.................................................................................19
Metal Foams Applications.........................................................................................................20
Aims and Objectives..................................................................................................................21
CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW......................................................................................22
CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY...............................................................................................40
Thermal conductivity in relation to density...........................................................................42
Thermal conductivity in relation reinforcement percentage..................................................42
The rule of physical mixture......................................................................................................44
Properties of metal foam............................................................................................................44
CHAPTER IV: RESULTS AND ANALYSIS..............................................................................46
Mechanical properties................................................................................................................46
Open-cell type foam...............................................................................................................46
Closed-cell type foam............................................................................................................52
Thermal properties.....................................................................................................................61
Thermal conductivity in respect to density............................................................................61
Thermal conductivity in respect to % of reinforcement.........................................................63
CHAPTER VI: CONCLUSION....................................................................................................73
REFERENCES...............................................................................................................................74
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LIST OF TABLES
Table 1.1 Properties of metallic form and their formulas
Table 1.2 Properties of composites
Table 2.1 Aluminium foams
Table 2.2 Surface roughness
Table 2.3 comparison of conventional foam with the composite foam
Table 3.1 Mechanical properties of metal foam
Table 3.2 Properties of composites
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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 2.1 Ceast fractovis drop test
Figure 1.2 NaCl samples under different pressure condition 32, 39 and 50 psi
Figure 2.3 Geometry of the model
Figure 2.4 Three-point bending test
Figure 4.1: Compressive strength for all metal foams
Figure 4.2: Hardness for all metal foams
Figure 4.3: Young’s modulus for all metal foams
Figure 4.4 Variation of K vs q for all metal foams
Figure 4.5 Variation of K vs phi for Mixture rule
Figure 4.6 Variation of K vs phi for Maxwell model
Figure 4.7 Variation of K vs phi for Hamilton & Crosser model (n=3)
Figure 4.8 Variation of K vs phi for Hamilton & Crosser model (n=2)
Figure 4.9 Variation of K vs phi for Hamilton & Crosser model (n=1)
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CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION
Introduction:
There are classifications of metal foams in accordance with the materials’ low density, high
capacity to absorb energy, high capacity to conduct heat, ability to absorb vibration and high
noise. In addition, the material could have high mechanical, electrical, acoustic and physical
qualities. These foams avail light weigh capability to their structures other than being cheap.in
addition, they can offer stiffness to relevant structures to increase the structure’s energy. Metal
foams are non-toxic and are recyclable making them suitable. Examples of metal foams include;
SiC, Al, Nanoporous gold and Nanoporous carbon.
Methods of Manufacturing Metal Foams
There are ways of developing metal foams from various materials and methods. There exist nine
manufacturing methods for metal foams, however, only five methods are mostly used and are
well advanced. The process of selecting the production method has been proving difficult and
needs deep experience and knowledge. The list below represents the nine methods able to be
used in the development of metal foams.
1. Power pressurization of metal through leaching powder.
2. Trapping high-pressure gas through the use of isostatic pressing.
3. Dissolving hydrogen gas in liquid metal in an action pressure.
4. Cooling metal through foam agents in the pressure-controlled system.
5. Sintering hollow sphere before dehydrating.
6. Gas bubbling through metals.
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7. Forming wax mould.
8. Vapour phases disposing of.
9. Metal powder collections through foam agents before heating.
The methods mentioned above can be used in metal foam production in four forms, the metal
foams can be produced as vapour phases, production as aqueous solutions that are metallic foam
electro-deposition, production in a liquid state using the liquid processes and production in the
solid state. These four methods are able to be used in the production of metal foams and lead to
various cell size and relative density.
Characterizing and testing of the metal foam produced is advisable once manufacturing is
complete, there may be a produced metal foam with different cellular structure and property due
to the effect of the selected manufacturing method. In addition, there are many ways of
performing structure analysis present for the characterization of foam. For example, Scanning
Electron Microscopy, optical microscopy and X-ray tomography. Metal foam properties
production is influenced by the size of the specimen and the size of the cell. Various methods are
present for conducting analysis on the specimen metal foams. Below is a prepared list which
could be used in analyzing the metal foams to note the different metal foam behaviours.
1. Specimen’s creep test.
2. Specimen’s fatigue tees.
3. Specimen’s shear test.
4. Specimen’s indentation test.
5. Specimen’s multi-axial stress testing.
6. Specimen’s uniaxial compression testing.
7. Specimen’s Uniaxial tension testing.
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Metal Form Properties
The cellular structure of metal foam affects their properties. Additionally, the method used in
manufacturing, and the cell type (closed or open) affect the metal foam properties. More
influence on the metal foam properties are also affected by the shapes, defects, sizes as well as
the anisotropy present in the materials. The distinction between properties present in the solid
materials and foam material are that solid materials will be represented by subscript ‘s’ while
properties for the metal foams will be represented by ρs and ρ.
There exists a variety of mechanical properties in the foam structures which can as well be
calculated using the mathematical formulas. Using the mechanical properties, the calculations
can be done for the closed-cell type foams or the open-cell type foams. The table below identifies
the variety of metal foams and their formulas used in the calculation.
Table 3 Properties of metallic form and their formulas
Properties Closed-cell type foams Open-cell Type foams
Elasticity
modulus
Compressive
strength
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Strain
Hardness
Tensile strength
Shear modulus
Flexure
modulus
Bulk modulus
Endurance limit
Thermal properties
The properties of metals forms which include specific heat, melting point, latent heat, coefficient
of thermal expansion, minimum servicing temperature and maximum servicing temperature are
taken to be similar to the solid materials that make up their structure. The thermal conductivity of
the metal foams can be derived through calculation with respect to the solid material and the
foam density as described below:
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In the above equation, the material’s resistivity is represented by R while the r is the constant
1.65-1.85.
Electrical properties
The metal resistivity is studied within the metal foams looking at the mathematica equation
below.
In that the r value will be varryng between 1.6-1.85
Other Mathematical Formulas
When there is a reinforcement of small particles into various materials, the mixture properties for
the small particles (either nano or micro) could be calculated using the mathematical model. This
scenario makes the properties, for example, specific heat, thermal conductivity, density,
coefficient of thermal expansion and viscosity easily calculated.
Thermal conductivity
The mixtures in the study could be observed and analyzed through their thermal conductivity
using the rule on the physical mixture or through mathematical models via experiments (Maxwell
model, Yu & Choi model, Hamilton & Crosser model).
Maxwell model
The invention of this model was availed in 1873 by J. C. Maxwell. The model works according
to the theory of effective medium. When developing the model, Maxwell made an assumption
that particles do not move. The model goes to calculate thermal conductivity for the composite as
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