military architectural automotive founded 1995 products aluminum foam alusion website http www.cymat.com cymat technologies is a canadian public corporation based out of mississauga ontario and one of the world leaders 1 in the production of aluminum foam . contents 1 process 2 see also 3 external links 4 references process edit as described in the patent originally created by alcan 2 with parallel patents created by norsk hydro stabilized aluminum foam is generated in a continuous casting process via direct shop air injection into a metal matrix composite mmc melt . the mmc comprises an al si cast alloy with a volume of particle in suspension . the purpose of the particle is to provide melt stability and must adhere to the following criteria ; 2 stabilized aluminum foam cast by cymat technologies . consist of alumina titanium diboride zirconia silicon carbide silicon nitride or any solid stabilizer materials must compose of less than 25 vol % of the mmc particulate sizes must range from 0.5 m 25 m preferably in the range of 1 m to 20 m though it is a controversial topic it is widely accepted that the presence of the solid particles aid in the stabilization of bubbles . 3 it is thought that particulate aids in foam stability via the following mechanisms increase bulk liquid viscosity 3 4 5 slows the flow of molten metal through the cell walls to help maintain a stable structure . creates a mechanical disjoining pressure 3 6 a repulsive force which helps to maintain the cell wall thickness between two adjacent cells . reduction in drainage 4 presence of particulate in the foam helps to impede the flow of molten metal in the direction of gravity by obstructing the cell walls and sustaining the liquid . the process for the creation of stabilized aluminum foam and can be broken down into these 4 rudimentary steps melting air injection casting solidification once the raw mmc is melted it is then transferred to the foaming apparatus where gas is injected into the melt and dispersed using either rotating impellers or vibrating nozzles . 7 the bubbles rise to the surface and the resultant metal foam mixture cast will rise out of the foaming apparatus due to its density relative to that of the molten mmc . as the metallic foam is being cast it is simultaneously drawn off the surface by for example a conveyor belt . 8 while it is drawn off it is then cooled and forms a porous metallic structure . see also edit aluminium foam sandwich composite materials metal foam metal matrix composite external links edit official company website architectural product website how stuff works metallic foam casting routes references edit cymat technologies a b patent us4973358 a b c m. mukherjee evolution of metal foams during solidification page 20 october 14 2008 a b s.w. ip y. wang and j.m. toguri aluminum foam stabilization by solid particles page 2 march 30 1998 w. deqing and s. ziyuan effect of ceramic particles on cell size and wall thickness of aluminum foam may 15 2003 c. korner foam formation mechanisms in particle suspensions applied to metal foams september 28 2007 manufacturing routes for metallic foams method of producing lightweight foamed metal retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title cymat technologies & oldid 646957676 categories scientific organizations based in canadanatural resources canadacompanies based in mississaugahidden categories pages using infobox company with unsupported parameters navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools what links hererelated changesupload filespecial pagespermanent linkpage informationwikidata itemcite this page print export create a bookdownload as pdfprintable version languages add links this page was last modified on 13 february 2015 at 14 29 . text is available under the creative commons attribution sharealike license ; additional terms may apply . by using this site you agree to the terms of use and privacy policy . wikipedia is a registered trademark of the wikimedia foundation inc. a non profit organization . privacy policy about wikipedia disclaimers contact wikipedia developers cookie statement mobile view