Abstract
A review assessing the relative benefits of metal foam core sandwich panelswith respect to honeycomb, polymeric foam and truss cores has been conducted.It is noted that metal foams are able to combine low density with good bendingstiffness and strength, making them attractive core materials for use in industrialapplications (e.g. aircraft wing structures). The current modellingtools available for metal foams are also reviewed. These fall under threecategories: analytical methods using dimensional analysis, finite elementmethods utilising a repeating unit cell, and finite element methods utilisingthe random Voronoi technique. It is noted that analytical methods do not takeinto account the effect of imperfections in the microstructure. Finite elementmethods utilising a repeating unit cell also fail to capture the natural variationsin microstructure that are observed in most cellular materials. The effectsof imperfections are discussed, and it is observed that these reduce the hydrostaticstrength of foams by differing amounts. The Voronoi technique can producea geometrically more realistic model of the foam structure than the othertwo methods. Finite element methods are also being developed that utilisea three-dimensional tomographic image of a real foam as the geometric descriptionof the model and it is possibly here that the most exciting developments forthe modelling of foams resides.
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