Aluminum Foam Alternatives

Discussions focus on properties, applications in aviation and construction, and suggestions for alternative materials like polystyrene foam, fiberglass, epoxies, and composites compared to a new ultralight aluminum foam from a Nature paper.

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AFAIK PA6 IMO JET sciencemag.org PMMA LV nature.com sciencing.com NIST material plastic materials carbon foam properties wood asbestos ice concrete

Sample Comments

csn • Nov 3, 2015 • View on HN

polystyrene foam on the other hand might do the trick

idontwantthis • May 19, 2025 • View on HN

Would this be a good material for aviation?

harhargange • Aug 13, 2024 • View on HN

A lot of foamy materials are indeed used for that purpose

lerie1982 • Mar 12, 2020 • View on HN

Why weren't other materials tested? Brick, concrete, woods?

Paradigma11 • Jun 19, 2025 • View on HN

Did they use cardboard derivatives?

djmips • Feb 13, 2020 • View on HN

Have you considered fibre reinforced plastic? I'm not an expert but I'm curious if that's a good option.

Sosh101 • Jul 20, 2023 • View on HN

I wonder if such a thing is possible with modern materials?

numakerg • Aug 27, 2019 • View on HN

What about using plastic or some flexibly epoxy. Would it have some adverse effect or is there a cost issue?

xupybd • Dec 14, 2023 • View on HN

Why not use other materials?Modified acrylic or compact laminate?That will save lives.

enva2712 • Mar 23, 2024 • View on HN

I wonder why they didn’t try a pdms resin as wellhere’s the paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07061-4.pdf