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Inventor Realizes Dream to Create Stronger Metal Foam
AFSANEH RABIEI: When I first came to this department, people were asking me, what do
you want to do, and I said, I going to make a material as light as aluminum and stronger
than stainless steel. And I've been told, well, good luck with that.
MILES O'BRIEN: But mechanical and aerospace engineer Afsaneh Rabiei has created that material--one
that can make stronger buildings, safer car bumpers, even better body parts. And get this:
it's metal foam!
RABIEI: How about, if the entire material is made of air pockets, like a sponge?
O'BRIEN: With help from the National Science Foundation, Rabiei created a composite metal
foam. This combination of components such as hollow steel spheres surrounded by aluminum
is stronger than other metal foams. Other foams have weaker, uneven cell structures.
RABIEI: The strength of the material is increased because the spheres are bonded together through
this matrix all around them. So this is the advantage of composite foams.
O'BRIEN: Rabiei and her students showed us how it's made at North Carolina State University--preparing
samples of solid metal and metal foam.
RABIEI: So we are going to heat it up to 700 degrees and once all the aluminum is melted
we are ready to cast.
O'BRIEN: The metal foam is much lighter. It's also much stronger.
RABIEI: The back plate is pretty much flat. The back plate was protected by the foam here.
O'BRIEN: Imagine that metal foam in a car bumper.
RABIEI: If you have a car accident at 28 miles per hour, it will feel like 5 miles per hour
for the passenger sitting in the car.
O'BRIEN: Rabiei is working with the U.S. military to improve body armor and strengthen combat
vehicles. In the operating room, this material may advance knee and hip replacements.
RABIEI: The body will like it much better than a solid, heavy material.
O'BRIEN: She encourages her students to be persistent and pioneering. And she reaches
out to grade school kids.
RABIEI: I think if we start showing kids what engineering can do and excite them, from that
age we can get better feedback later on.
O'BRIEN: A good formula for designing the future. For Science Nation, I'm Miles O'Brien.