The metallic foams are a new kind of engineering material with very low density and high specific strength. The metallic foams have high energy absorbing capacity, low thermal conductivity, and high sound and vibration damping ability. Because of the characteristics mentioned above, metallic foams are used for specific applications such as crashworthiness, blast resistance, noise attenuation, machine bed vibration damper, and utensil holder. The metallic foams can be of two types, called open-cell metallic foam and closed-cell metallic foam. The open-cell metallic foams have continuous porosity (interconnected pores), and mass transfer (fluids can pass through it) can occur. The closed-cell metallic foams have internal porosity, but the mass transfer cannot take place from one side to another. As mass transfer can take place through the open-cell metallic foams, these are used in heat exchangers and fuel cells. The metallic foams as implants are also used for bone replacement because of their properties (density and strength), similar to natural bone. The metallic foams have inherent porosity, and tissue can grow in the pores and provide a strong bonding between the implant and body. The iron foams are also used for the treatment of wastewater by the ozonation process. Foams of almost all structural materials (i.e., iron, steel, copper, aluminium, magnesium, titanium, nickel, and zinc) are made. The aluminium is the most commonly used material for making metallic foams because of its low density, as the low-density metals can be easily foamed. The magnesium is also a potential material for fabricating metallic foams because of its very low density. The powder metallurgy and its variants are the most widely used techniques for the development of magnesium foams. Purpose of this special issue is to show the recent advances in metallic foam development techniques.

Aims & Scope

(1) Metallic Foam Fabrication Techniques

(2) Applications of Metallic Foams

(3) Characterization and Testing of Metallic Foams

(4) Comparative Study on the Metallic Foams Fabrication Techniques