Ali Mostafid

Project Summary

Metal foams are intricately detailed structures. They have important industrial applications due to their large surface area to volume ratio and high permeability. Open-cell metal foams have wide range of functional applications such as filters, flame arrestors, and heat exchangers. To find the suitable materials for each application, researchers are interested in determining the parameters related to the internal structure of open-cell metal foams such as permeability, pore size distributions, and specific surface area.

Due to the unique structure, corrosion resistance and biocompatibility of some of these materials, they are also attractive for medical purposes such as tissue attachment. Matching the properties of the implants with the properties of the bones is crucial to avoid stress shielding that may cause implant loosening. The mechanical properties of the titanium foams are remarkably close to those of bones, as opposed to solid titanium currently used in orthopedic and dental applications. The unique open-cell structure, corrosion resistance, biocompatibility and mechanical properties of NRC-IMI’s titanium foams make them attractive for the fabrication of biomedical implants and tissue attachment.

The purpose of my project is to investigate the homogeneity of metal foams, especially the titanium foams produced at NRC-IMI. The applications would be the porous implants and attachments systems for orthopedic and dental applications.

Published Works