Editorial: Metallic foams special section

Abstract

Porous metals and metallic foams have been, for the last 25 years, the focus of very active research and development activities around the world, both at the academic and industrial levels. These materials are used when the combination of metal properties with the characteristics of a properly designed cellular structure provides advantages over other types of materials. They possess a spectrum of unique properties that can be tailored as a function of the final application, such as high impact energy absorption under mechanical load, high specific stiffness and strength, high fire resistance, air and water permeability, unusual acoustic properties for a metallic component, and low relative thermal conductivity. This special issue of Advanced Engineering Materials mainly contains a selection of the papers presented during MetFoam2015. The conference encompasses papers dealing with basic fundamentals, fabrication, morphological, and microstructural characterization, property profiles, secondary operations, and various applications of porous metals and metallic foams.