Applications of Cellular Materials – An Overview

Abstract

The research in material science had led to the discovery of new materials; but the real challenge lies in finding suitable application for those materials to be used in various engineering fields. Finding application for a new material is very difficult. Cellular materials have the most promising applications and proved to be satisfactory for its applicability due to their high stiffness-to-weight ratio, better crash energy absorption, fire resistance, non-toxicity, low thermal conductivity, magnetic permeability and lower density. Along with drastic weight reduction and material savings in the case of cellular structures, there are other application-specific benefits like noise and energy absorption, mechanical damping and filtration effects. Various materials exist where weight reduction is the only parameter to be considered but if low weight combined with good energy absorption characteristics or heat resistance is required, then metal foams could be preferred. Possible applications are seen in areas like light weight construction, crash energy absorption, noise control, transport industry, building industry, heat exchangers, purifiers, decoration and arts, etc,. The use of foams can satisfy the demand for light-weighing parts of several branches of industry.