Patent 7641984 was granted and assigned to North Carolina State University on January, 2010 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
The present invention is directed to composite metal foams comprising hollow metallic spheres and a solid metal matrix. The composite metal foams show high strength, particularly in comparison to previous metal foams, while maintaining a favorable strength to density ratio. The composite metal foams can be prepared by various techniques, such as powder metallurgy and casting.