Metal foam has a series of excellent properties: high porosity, large specific surface area, high specific strength, high specific stiffness, energy absorption, good damping and shock absorption, corrosion resistance, high temperature resistance, electromagnetic shielding, non-toxic, easy processing, can be painted surface treatment, etc.. Due to its excellent physical and mechanical properties, foam metal can be used as both structural and functional materials. In general, it has both functional and structural roles, and is a multifunctional engineering material with excellent performance that integrates function and structure. Foam metals are widely used in aerospace, electronic communication, transportation, atomic energy, medicine, environmental protection, metallurgy, machinery, construction, electrochemistry and petrochemical industry.

The main difference between metals foam and traditional materials is their highly variable microstructure, which can be gradually reduced from millimeter to micron or even nanometer in size while maintaining high porosity. Therefore, porous metals have good designability and can be designed with innovative conformation optimization and multi-functional synergistic design of their microstructure before preparation according to the needs of different applications.
Lightweight, low energy consumption and safety and comfort are the development directions of automobiles, and improving the structure of automobiles is the way to reduce the weight and improve the fuel efficiency, but it is difficult to further reduce the space of the cabin. The use of smaller engines or other structural reductions will bring problems such as engine heat dissipation, and crash safety due to shortened bodywork. The requirement to reduce vehicle noise leads to the need for new sound-absorbing materials, so the use of lightweight multifunctional materials for automotive parts provides a viable solution to such problems. In the automotive industry, where the price and quality of materials are very demanding, the use of aluminum foam parts can reduce the mass of the vehicle, reduce the unit fuel consumption and vibration, reduce the burden on the environment, and increase the safety and comfort of the vehicle. The application of aluminum foam in automotive industry mainly includes lightweight structure, energy absorbing structure and damping heat transfer structure, etc.,