Research progress of aluminum foam and its composites

Foam metal is a new type of structural functional material, which is composed of metal matrix and pores. Compared with the solid metal materials, foam metal materials obtain some advantages such as heat, sound, energy absorption, and light weight at the expense of mechanical properties such as strength. Aluminum foam is a lightweight porous metal material which contains many pores in the aluminum matrix and combines metal and bubble characteristics. Aluminum foam shows low density, high absorption and shock resistance, high temperature resistance, strong fire resistance, corrosion resistance, noise reduction, low thermal conductivity, high electromagnetic shielding, strong weather resistance, filtration capacity, excellent penetration, damping, and electromagnetic shielding, which is widely used in metallurgy, chemical, aerospace, marine, electronics, automotive manufacturing, and construction industries. The researches on preparation method and physical properties of aluminum foam are important to improve the performances and expand the application fields of aluminum foam. The research progress on preparation and physical properties of foam aluminum and reinforced aluminum foam composites was summarized in this paper.