Electrical Conductivity of Aluminum Alloy Foams

Closed-cell aluminum alloy foams were produced using the powder metallurgical technique. The effect of porosity and cell diameter on the electrical conductivity of foams was investigated and the results were compared with a number of models. It was found that the percolation theory can be successfully applied to describe the dependence of the electrical conductivity of aluminum alloy foams on the relative density. The cell diameter has a negligible effect on the electrical conductivity of foams.