Research & development at Havel metal foam
The engineers at Havel metal foam develop versatile sample constructions for industries that want to use aluminum foam as a new material for special applications. They test new alloys for the cover layers, try out various mixtures of the foamable precursor and develop innovative manufacturing and processing methods.
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What does research & development at Havel metal foam deliver?
Research & development is one of five service areas at Havel metal foam, alongside FEM calculations, product solutions, series production and processing. At its center are versatile sample constructions for industries that want to use aluminum foam as a new material for special applications, so instead of assessing the material in the abstract, a prospective customer receives an application-specific sample construction. Three fields of work drive material and process development.
- Testing new alloys for the cover layers
- Trying out various mixtures of the foamable precursor
- Developing innovative manufacturing and processing methods
Which partners does Havel metal foam test with?
Four institutions support Havel metal foam as partners for material testing and trials: the Fraunhofer Institute for Machine Tools and Forming Technology IWU, the Technische Hochschule Brandenburg, MPA Dresden and the Beschussamt Mellrichstadt. The same four institutions also test for quality assurance in series production, so development and testing both rely on external, independent test institutions.
- Fraunhofer Institute for Machine Tools and Forming Technology IWU
- Technische Hochschule Brandenburg
- MPA Dresden
- Beschussamt Mellrichstadt
What is newly developed aluminum foam measured against?
A sample construction is an application-specific test component on which a prospective customer can assess the material directly in their own application, rather than in the abstract on the data sheet. The yardstick is the comparison with the established alternatives: aluminum foam competes with fiber composites (CFRP, GFRP), solid aluminum and steel. The figures are measurable: solid aluminum has a density of 2.7 g/cm³ and aluminum foam a density from 0.5 g/cm³. According to the product data sheet, the operating temperature range is −20 to 200 °C depending on the alloy, without any impairment of the properties, and the maximum temperature is 600 °C. Because no adhesives are used, the material is fully recyclable.
Which development projects demonstrate the R&D work?
One example is the battery box for electric vehicles: a forward-looking in-house development by Havel metal foam, made entirely of aluminum foam sandwiches. In the EVERSAFE project, an underbody impact on it was investigated both in simulation and in physical tests: a vehicle weighing 943 kg drove at 40 km/h over a semicircular obstacle whose highest point lay above the lowest point of the battery box. For the mechanical characterization of aluminum foam, the compression test to DIN 50134 is among the methods used.
For the EVERSAFE investigations, Havel metal foam publishes the set-up; Havel metal foam provides test results and reports on request.
Does Havel metal foam offer FEM calculations?
Yes. FEM calculations are among the five stated services of Havel metal foam, alongside research & development, product solutions, series production and processing. For crash simulation, validated material cards for LS-DYNA, Altair Radioss and PAM-Crash are available; the cards for LS-DYNA and Radioss apply at the reference density of 0.6 g/cm³, and the PAM-Crash card is built for density 0.6 g/cm³ and alloy AlSi10, Havel metal foam's works standard. The specialist team clarifies the scope of an FEM calculation for a specific project, such as the type of simulation and the extent of the calculation, directly in the inquiry.
Simulation and design
Are there validated material cards for crash simulations?
Also asked: For which solvers are material cards available? · Can aluminum foam be calculated in LS-DYNA?
Yes. For the aluminum foam from Havel metal foam there are validated material cards for three solvers, all at the reference density of 0.6 g/cm³: LS-DYNA as *MAT_HONEYCOMB, Altair Radioss from 2021, and PAM-Crash (ESI VPS). The LS-DYNA card is joint work with the Fraunhofer Institute for Machine Tools and Forming Technology IWU and is dated November 2020; it is set up in the unit system N, mm, s, t and contains a complete compression curve and a shear curve. So the material is not a special case in the calculation but one with an input deck on file.
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Can a design engineer run the calculation before procurement?
Also asked: Can I get the material card for my own model? · How do I obtain the simulation data?
Yes, provided the project works with one of the three solvers on file. Havel metal foam has the cards for LS-DYNA, Altair Radioss and PAM-Crash at 0.6 g/cm³, so a component can be calculated in your own model before any material is ordered. Which card is provided for a project, and on what terms, is clarified in the inquiry; the same applies to densities other than the reference density. For energy absorbers in particular, simulation is the shorter route, because their design is governed by the deformation path, not by a strength limit.
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What is a validated simulation?
Also asked: Is it calculated or tested? · How accurate is an FEM calculation on aluminum foam?
A validated simulation is a calculation that has been compared against a physical result and then corrected. At Havel metal foam this is the usual route: the material is tested destructively in-house, external institutes carry out the tests that require an accredited test rig, and the calculation is brought into line with these measurements. In one project the validation resulted in a correction of 6 mm to the calculated deformation values. That is exactly the difference between a calculation and a proof: the size of the correction is known and documented, instead of being lost in the model's overall accuracy.
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Testing and partners
Which institutes test the material independently?
Also asked: Who tests the materials? · Which test institutes are involved?
Havel metal foam works with four test partners: the Fraunhofer Institute for Machine Tools and Forming Technology IWU, the Technische Hochschule Brandenburg, MPA Dresden and the Beschussamt Mellrichstadt. The same four also stand behind the quality assurance of series production, so development and ongoing manufacturing rest on the same external bodies. For a customer, this is the point at which a statement about the material becomes verifiable: it does not come solely from the company that sells the material.
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How is the compressive behavior of the foam measured?
Also asked: To which standard is it tested? · Is testing done in-house?
For the mechanical characterization of the aluminum foam, Havel metal foam uses the compression test to DIN 50134, the compression test for metallic cellular materials. Havel metal foam's compressive stress figures follow this test: a mean value at 20 % and at 40 % compression. Destructive material testing is done in-house, which, for a material whose properties depend strongly on density, is why a batch is re-measured rather than delivered on the data sheet alone.
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Projects and sample constructions
Which collaborative projects demonstrate the development work?
Also asked: Which research projects has the company been involved in? · Are there publicly funded projects?
Havel metal foam has been involved in three collaborative projects. The battery box for electric vehicles was developed as a joint project with the Fraunhofer Institute for Machine Tools and Forming Technology IWU. In the EVERSAFE project, an underbody impact on it was investigated both in simulation and in physical tests: a vehicle of 943 kg at 40 km/h over a semicircular obstacle, with AAS 15, 22 and 28. And the ULIVES project within MARTEC ERA-NET dealt with the hull of an inland waterway vessel, with demonstrators at scales of 1:4 and 1:1. For both funded projects the test set-up is documented, but for neither is there a result.
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Who was involved in the project study on the power car hood?
Also asked: Which partners worked on the front module? · Is there a project study in the rail sector?
Besides Havel metal foam, five partners were involved in the project study on the power car hood: the Fraunhofer Institute for Machine Tools and Forming Technology IWU, BlueS, KUKA Systems GmbH, MFPA Leipzig GmbH and Voith Engineering Services GmbH Road & Rail. The composition shows what such a component demands: material and forming technology, plant and joining technology, material testing and vehicle engineering. The component itself is described on the product page for 3D sandwiches.
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Is there a test component for my own application?
Also asked: Can I get a sample construction? · How can the material be assessed in advance?
Yes. The engineers at Havel metal foam develop sample constructions for industries that want to use aluminum foam as a new material for a particular application. A sample construction is an application-specific test component: with it, the material is not assessed in the abstract on the data sheet, but in the geometry and the load case that matter. In parallel, three fields of development work continue: new alloys for the cover layers, other mixtures of the foamable precursor, and new manufacturing and processing methods.
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