Optimization of the annealing of plaster moulds for the manufacture of metallic foams with an irregular cell structure

Abstract

Metallic foams are the materials, the research of which is still ongoing, with a broad applicability in many different areas (e.g., automotive industry, building industry, medicine, etc.). These materials have interesting potentials due to a combination of properties, which are, on the one hand, related to their metallic character and, on the other hand, to the porous structure. Since the discovery of porous metallic materials numerous methods of production have been developed. This work deals with the optimization of the foundry method for the manufacture of metallic foams using the evaporable polymeric pattern. This technology was used for the manufacture of metallic foams with an irregular cell structure and with fully open pores. Attention, in the experimental part, is devoted particularly to the chosen moulding material – plaster. We checked the suitably of the proposed procedure of manufacturing a plaster mould, the drying process and the subsequent annealing that significantly influence the final properties of the mould and, therefore, the quality of the resulting casting of the metallic foam.