Determination of surface porosity ratio of aluminum composite foams

OpenAlex · Turkish

Aluminum foam is the most widely used metallic foam, with applications in automotive, aerospace, construction, and engineering fields, due to its potential for lightweight structural components. Its mechanical properties are closely dependent on the matrix material and are influenced not only by density but also by factors such as cell junction accuracy, cell roundness, diameter distribution, and the solid fraction within the cell network. Accurate characterization of geometric features—ligaments (cross-sectional shape, diameter, length) and pores/cells (shape, diameter)—is essential for the further development of metal foams. Such information enables the effective design of technical applications, including the calculation of specific surface area, which defines the interface between solid and fluid phases, as well as mathematical modeling and input generation for finite element analyses. In this study, the surface porosity, average pore diameter, and pore count of aluminum composite foams were determined using the open-source image processing program ImageJ. Among the various image analysis methods available in the software, the Intermodes method was identified as the most reliable for evaluating surface porosity in aluminum composite foams. Using this approach, porosity ratios were measured for different specimens, and the average pore diameters and counts were calculated.