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Using X-ray tomoscopy to explore the dynamics of foaming metal
Francisco García-Moreno1,2, Paul Hans Kamm3,4, Tillmann Robert Neu3,4
1Institute of Applied Materials, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie, Hahn-Meitner-Platz 1, 14109, Berlin, Germany. garcia-moreno@helmholtz-berlin.de.
Nature Communications
|August 23, 2019
Summary
Researchers used X-ray tomoscopy to study liquid aluminum foam dynamics. They identified new causes for bubble coalescence and quantified foam expansion, enabling the creation of finer, uniform metallic foams.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Fluid Dynamics
- Physics
Background:
- Understanding liquid metal flow in metallic foams is challenging due to opacity and high temperatures.
- Key dynamic phenomena like bubble coalescence and film rupture remain poorly understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To clarify dynamic phenomena in liquid aluminum foam using advanced imaging.
- To investigate the causes of bubble coalescence and foam expansion.
- To quantify film thinning and rupture dynamics.
Main Methods:
- Application of X-ray tomoscopy for continuous 3D image acquisition at high frame rates (208 tomograms/sec).
- Utilized a data processing algorithm for millisecond-scale analysis.
- Studied liquid aluminum foam dynamics, including nucleation, growth, and coalescence.
Main Results:
- Identified local pressure peaks from blowing agents as a cause of bubble coalescence, in addition to gravity and foam growth stresses.
- Quantified foam expansion, rupture cascades, and film thinning preceding rupture.
- Observed phenomena on millisecond timescales.
Conclusions:
- Bubble coalescence in metallic foams is driven by multiple factors, including blowing agent pressure.
- Detailed quantification of dynamic processes provides insights into foam evolution.
- Findings offer a pathway to produce metallic foams with controlled bubble size and distribution.
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