Foam Analysis with Industrial CT Scanning: Advanced Insights into Cell Structure

Industrial CT scanning and computerized interrogation software offer powerful solutions for foam analysis across various industries. Using this technology, companies can gain insights into foam structures, porous materials, or lattices. Details revealed include cell size, shape, and connectivity crucial for quality control and performance optimization.

Advantages of Using Industrial CT for Foam Analysis  

Industrial CT scanning provides a non-destructive path to inspect foam structures in three dimensions. It can capture comprehensive data that traditional methods, such as optical and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), might miss. The process reveals intricate details about the foam's cellular structure and individual features. These characteristics are important to the engineer researching or building lightweight structures, managing energy, working on thermal insulation, filtration, and more. By leveraging specialized software, such as the Volume Graphics Foam Analysis module, Nel PreTech Corporation can perform automated evaluations and create detailed reports, aiding in quick decision-making.

Understanding Foam Cells

Foams consist of a network of gas-filled cells, often separated by thin liquid or solid walls, depending on the material type. The cellular structure can be open or closed. In open-cell foams, cells are interconnected, allowing air or fluids to pass through, making them suitable for applications like filtration and soundproofing. In contrast, closed-cell foams trap gas within each cell, providing buoyancy, insulation, and cushioning properties.

Key Features Determined through CT Scanning

1. Cell Size and Distribution: Industrial CT scanning can measure individual cell sizes and their spatial distribution throughout the foam. This data helps identify inconsistencies that could influence thermal conductivity, sound absorption, and structural strength.

2. Wall Thickness: The scanning software can analyze the thickness of the foam’s cell walls or struts. Thickness can affect the foam's mechanical properties, such as flexibility, strength, and durability. Controlling the cell wall thickness ensures that materials perform reliably under various stresses.

3. Cell Shape, Orientation, and Volume: Sphericity, directional features, and compactness of the cells can influence how well the foam compresses, absorbs impact, or resists deformation. CT scanning can provide a detailed map of these characteristics, globally or within a specific area of interest.

Advanced Software Capabilities

Foam Analysis using VGSTUDIO MAX automates many of these measurements, allowing for efficient and repeatable analysis. Key functionalities include:

- Threshold-Based Segmentation: Threshold-based segmentation identifies a specific intensity level or range to separate a region of interest (ROI) from the surrounding area in an image. This technique is most effective when the target and background have distinct intensity differences, allowing for the exclusion of voxels that fall outside the defined threshold range. This helps distinguish between different phases or materials within a composite foam. It is useful in products like layered foams or multi-material composites.

- Skeletonization: A technique used to reduce or thin the foam structure to study the precise cell wall connectivity and branching. This analysis can reveal the structural integrity and load-bearing capacity of foam.

- Cell Morphology Analysis: Computes detailed shape metrics for each cell, including shape, sphericity, volume enclosed, and diameter. These metrics are used for applications requiring specific mechanical properties, fluid permeability, or elasticity.  

Practical Applications Across Industries

- Automotive: Helps to refine materials for use in car seats, dashboards, insulation, or crash absorption.

- Aerospace: Enhances lightweight structural components and thermal insulation materials to meet strict safety standards.

- Medical Devices: Supports the development of biocompatible foams for wound care and implantable devices. Increases longevity of foams for impact resistance, positioners, filters, orthotics, and prosthetics.

By providing meaningful insights into foam characteristics, Nel PreTech’s services help clients optimize materials for performance and quality. Work with Nel PreTech to solve your complex material challenges.

Contact us today for Foam Analysis. If you are interested in Powder Analysis, read our in-depth article here.