This collection constitutes an essential sourcebook for researchers, producers and users seeking technical information on materials with foam-like structures.
The collection is unique, in that it brings together people from the fields of metals and polymers. Both material types derive their advantageous properties from a cellular structure. These properties include: low weight, high specific stiffness and strength, excellent energy absorption capacity, as well as damping and insulation properties. On the other hand, the processing of metals is far more difficult due to the higher temperatures involved. Another important factor is the faster decay of metal foam structures, at the end of the foaming process, because of their combination of high surface tension and low viscosity. The differences in foamability, between metals and polymers, explain why cellular plastics have been widely used for some time whereas cellular metals have only recently found their first applications.