What is ceramic foam?

Ceramic foam is a light structure consisting of a small percentage of very porous ceramics and a high percentage of pores filled with gas. Typical ceramic foams are 75 to 90% porous, although some are even more porous. Such foams have valuable material properties that make them suitable for various engineering and other applications.

Most production techniques for such foam generally include the impregnation of another foam structure with ceramic porridge. This structure is then burned at a high oven temperature. The ceramics hardens while the heat of the furnace destroys the basic structure on which it was built.

Lightweight and highly porous ceramic structure is created as the final product of this production process. The material created can have individually sealed pores. This type of structure is known as foam with closed cells. When foam pores are interconnected throughout the structure, it is called foam with open cells.

Specific characteristics of specific foams depends on different FAKsTorech, but this class of materials is known for certain common properties. Low thermal conductivity makes ceramic foam particularly useful as the thermal insulation material. Thanks to its ability to withstand relatively large thermal shocks, it is also suitable for harsh environments such as industrial and air applications. High porosity characteristic of these foams means that these are relatively light materials useful in applications where excessive weight should be avoided.

The

tiles used in thermal protection systems in the United States Cosmic Space Shuttles were classic examples of the use of ceramic foam for these properties. The spacecraft travels between the ground and the space, whether during the start or re -entry, they meet extreme changes in temperature at the atmosphere at high speed. Insulation from these extreme changes were necessary to protect shuttles from this extremely harshI will. However, moving matter to space is very expensive and energy -intensive, so the weight had to be kept to a minimum. The light nature of ceramic foam combined with its thermal properties caused it to be attractive for use in some of the tiles installed on the shuttle.

In addition to use as an insulating material, ceramic foam is also commonly used in filter applications. When using other materials, ceramic foam filters provide three ways of filtration. After contact with the filter input, the particles are larger than the pore size backed up on the filter surface because they are too large to go through. This backup material consists of a layer known as a layer of cake, on the surface of the filter, which in turn captures smaller particles. The best particles can pass through a layer of cake, but are then captured in the filter pores.

Potential new levels are developing ceramic foams. For example, in the medical industry, it is studied for possible use to stimulate growth toA liver where bones were removed, for example in cancer patients. Very small ceramic foam segments are also considered to use drugs to the body over time through the controlled release process.