Aluminum foam for drones and ground stations
For drones and their ground stations, Havel metal foam produces four groups of aluminum foam components: structural components and beams, foamed guide rails for payload parts, heat sinks and electronics housings. Here the material brings four properties that work together in an unmanned system: vibration damping, weight reduction, crash absorption and a higher achievable speed. Decisive for the choice: the DCR-A heat sink is a design proposal, not a delivered component, and the thermal conductivities from the product data sheet apply to the material by density, not to the component with its cast skin.
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Where does aluminum foam sit in a drone?
For unmanned systems, Havel metal foam produces structural components and foamed beams, guide rails for payload parts inside the drone, heat sinks and electronics housings for ground stations. What they have in common is a combination of four properties that do not act separately from one another in a drone: vibration damping, weight reduction, crash absorption and a higher achievable speed. The speed is not a material property in its own right but the consequence of the first two: less mass and a higher critical frequency.
- Structural components and foamed beams
- Guide rails for payload parts
- Heat sinks
- Electronics housings for ground stations
What does a foamed beam do against vibration?
The beam from Havel metal foam consists of an aluminum foam core enclosed in cast aluminum. Two figures apply to this build-up: a vibration reduction of 60 % and a critical frequency that rises from 310 to 370 Hz. For an aircraft the second figure matters more, because it widens the gap between the operating rotational speed and resonance, and with it the range in which the structure can be excited at all.
Both figures come from the design of this beam, not from a test to a defined procedure. They are manufacturer's figures for one specific component: they cannot support a qualification that requires a test procedure, a testing body and a sample count.
What changes when a guide rail is foamed?
Havel metal foam fills guide rails with foam; the rails carry payload parts inside the drone. The foam sits in the cavity of an existing profile, which does two things at once: the rail damps vibrations that would otherwise travel through the guide into the payload, and it becomes lighter than a solid version of the same stiffness. For a camera or a sensor package, that is the difference between a steady image and a shaky one.
What does the DCR-A heat sink replace, and how much mass does it save?
DCR-A stands for Die Cast Replacement Model A: a heat sink of aluminum foam with a cast aluminum skin, which Havel metal foam designed to replace a finned die-cast part. The total weight is 0.03 kg. Compared with the current die-cast aluminum version, that is around 30 g against around 60 g, about half the mass in the same installation. In an aircraft, weight saved at this point counts twice, because it must not only be carried but also accelerated.
DCR-A is a design proposal, not a delivered component. The weight comparison is based on the design, not on a sample that was made and weighed.
How well does the heat sink dissipate heat?
No thermal conductivity is on record for DCR-A as a component. What is on record is the thermal conductivity of aluminum foam as a function of density, and those values apply to the foam, not to the composite of foam and cast aluminum skin. For DCR-A, Havel metal foam also gives a considerably higher figure, which was obtained under other conditions. For a heat sink, precisely this figure decides the design: anyone who wants to assess DCR-A thermally needs a measurement on the component. What is reliable today is the weight comparison.
The thermal conductivities of the material by density are on the material values page. They apply to the foam, not to the finished component with its cast skin.
What do electronics housings for drone ground stations do?
Havel metal foam builds electronics housings of aluminum foam in which the same wall takes on several tasks: it carries load, it provides electromagnetic shielding, it holds together in a fire and in a deflagration, and at the same time it acts as a heat sink. That is the real advantage over a sheet-metal housing with an attached heat sink and inserted shielding, because three components become one. The shielding effect is based on measurements to EN 50147-1 at Fraunhofer IWU.
Two limitations apply. Havel metal foam holds no building-authority or standards-based classification of fire behavior for this housing, and no protection value against a deflagration has been demonstrated for this housing. Fraunhofer IWU measured the shielding attenuation to EN 50147-1 on six samples; the measurement is available as a diagram and is put into context on the material values page.
How does Havel metal foam keep drone construction and drone protection apart?
Havel metal foam keeps the two deliberately apart. One is the components from which a drone is built. The other is ceiling elements for mobile protective structures, which Havel metal foam designs against kamikaze drones and explosive devices dropped by drones; their build-up, load-bearing capacity and installation are described in the defense section. A protective effect against a specific munition has not been demonstrated in either field.
Are there completed drone projects with this material?
There is no completed drone project by Havel metal foam so far. What is on record is the component: build-up, mass, task and, where available, the figure that goes with it. The DCR-A heat sink is a design, and the other component groups are fields of application with their properties, not a reference list. If you want to assess a specific component, the geometry, the load case and the required property tell you more than the industry does.
Components for drones
Which drone components does Havel metal foam produce from aluminum foam?
Also asked: What is aluminum foam used for in unmanned systems? · Which drone components are made of metal foam?
For unmanned systems, Havel metal foam produces four groups of aluminum foam components: structural components and foamed beams, guide rails for payload parts inside the drone, heat sinks and electronics housings for ground stations. These applications rest on four properties, and in an aircraft they do not act separately from one another: vibration damping, weight reduction, crash absorption and a higher achievable speed. The speed is not a material property in its own right but the consequence of the first two, that is, of less mass and a higher critical frequency.
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What does a foamed beam in a drone do against vibration?
Also asked: How much does an aluminum foam beam damp? · What happens to the natural frequency of a foamed beam?
The drone beam from Havel metal foam consists of an aluminum foam core enclosed in cast aluminum. Two figures apply to this build-up: a vibration reduction of 60 % and a critical frequency that rises from 310 to 370 Hz. For an aircraft the second matters more, because it widens the gap between the operating rotational speed and resonance. Both figures come from the design of this component, not from a test to a defined procedure. They are manufacturer's figures for one specific component: they cannot support a qualification that requires a test procedure, a testing body and a sample count.
- Sources
- Brand content
What are foamed guide rails in a drone for?
Also asked: How is the payload guided in a drone? · What does foam in the cavity of a guide rail achieve?
Havel metal foam fills guide rails with foam; the rails carry payload parts inside the drone. The foam sits in the cavity of the existing profile and does two things at once: the rail damps vibrations that would otherwise travel through the guide into the payload, and it becomes lighter than a solid version of the same stiffness. For a camera or a sensor package, precisely this decides how steady the image is. No damping figure has been measured for this rail; what is on record is the construction method.
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- Brand content
Heat sinks and electronics
How is the DCR-A heat sink built, and what does it weigh?
Also asked: What is DCR-A? · How much lighter is the aluminum foam heat sink than a die-cast part?
DCR-A stands for Die Cast Replacement Model A: a heat sink of aluminum foam with a cast aluminum skin, which Havel metal foam designed to replace a finned die-cast part. The total weight is 0.03 kg. Compared with the current die-cast aluminum version, that is around 30 g against around 60 g, about half the mass in the same installation. In an aircraft, weight saved at this point counts twice, because it must not only be carried but also accelerated. DCR-A is a design proposal, not a delivered component: the weight comparison is based on the design, not on a sample that was made and weighed.
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- Brand content
How well does the DCR-A heat sink dissipate heat?
Also asked: What is the thermal conductivity of the aluminum foam heat sink? · Does aluminum foam with a cast skin conduct better than a die-cast part?
No thermal conductivity is on record for the DCR-A heat sink from Havel metal foam as a component. What is on record is the thermal conductivity of aluminum foam as a function of density, as mean values in the product data sheet, and those values apply to the foam, not to the composite of foam and cast aluminum skin. For DCR-A, Havel metal foam also gives a considerably higher figure, which was obtained under other conditions. For a heat sink, this figure decides the design: anyone who wants to assess DCR-A thermally needs a measurement on the component. What is reliable today is the weight comparison; the thermal conductivities of the material by density are on the material values page.
- Sources
- Brand content
What do aluminum foam electronics housings do for drone ground stations?
Also asked: Why a housing of aluminum foam rather than sheet metal? · Does an aluminum foam housing provide electromagnetic shielding?
Havel metal foam builds electronics housings of aluminum foam in which the same wall takes on several tasks: it carries load, it provides electromagnetic shielding, it holds together in a fire and in a deflagration, and at the same time it acts as a heat sink. That is the advantage over a sheet-metal housing with an attached heat sink and inserted shielding, because three components become one. The shielding effect is based on measurements to EN 50147-1 at Fraunhofer IWU. Two limitations apply: Havel metal foam holds no standards-based classification of fire behavior for this housing, and no protection value against a deflagration has been demonstrated.
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- Brand content
Scope and status
Does Havel metal foam also build protection against drones?
Also asked: Are there ceiling elements against dropped munitions? · Is aluminum foam suitable for counter-drone protection?
Yes, and they are two different things, which Havel metal foam deliberately keeps apart. One is the components a drone is built from: beams, guide rails, heat sinks, housings. The other is the ceiling elements for mobile protective structures, designed against kamikaze drones and explosive devices dropped by drones; they belong to the defense field of application and are described there with their build-up, load-bearing capacity and installation. A protective effect against a specific munition has not been demonstrated in either field.
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- Brand content
Has Havel metal foam completed any drone projects?
Also asked: Which drone manufacturers use the material? · Is there a reference list for drone components?
No. There is no completed drone project by Havel metal foam so far. What is on record is the component: build-up, mass, task and, where available, the figure that goes with it. The DCR-A heat sink is a design, and the other component groups are fields of application with their properties, not a reference list. To assess a component, three details tell you more than the industry does: the geometry of the component, the load case and the required property.
- Sources
- Brand content
Aluminum foam for your unmanned system
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