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OPEN-CELL METAL FOAMS Open celled metal Foams have a structure similar to open-celled polyurethane foams and have a wide variety of applications including heat exchangers (compact electronics cooling, cryogen tanks, PCM heat exchangers), energy absorption, flow diffusion and lightweight optics. Manufacturers include ERG Aerospace , Metal Foam Korea , M-Pore , Porvair and Recemat . Due to the high cost of the material it is most typically used in advanced technology aerospace and manufacturing. Extremely fine-scale open-cell foams, with cells too small to be visible to the naked eye, are used as high-temperature Filters in the chemical industry. Manufacturers include Inco Ltd (trade name Incofoam ). CLOSED-CELL METAL FOAMS Closed-cell metal foams have been developed since about 1990, and are commonly made by injecting a gas or Foaming Agent into molten metal. The size of the pores - or 'cell size' is usually between 1 mm and 8 mm. Closed-cell metal foams are primarily used as an impact-absorbing material, similarly to the Polymer Foams in a Bicycle Helmet but for higher impact loads. Unlike many polymer foams metal foams remain deformed after impact, and can therefore only be used once. They are light (typically 10% of the density of the metal they are made of, which is usually Aluminium ) and Stiff , and are frequently proposed as a lightweight structural material. However they have not yet been widely used in this context. They are currently manufactured by Cymat Corporation (Canada) and the Shinko Wire Company (Japan). SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS
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