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Solid foams are used as catalyst supports, in fuel cells, as
heat-transfer devices, and more. Ideal foams
(volume fraction approaching zero) have a very specific structure:
the basic skeleton can be described using a modified Voronoi diagram, and the
additional characteristics (such as the specific geometry
of the ligaments) can be overlaid onto this skeleton to
create surprisingly accurate models. Because of this
correspondence between physical and mathematical
structure, solid foams are one of the best candidates for
producing realistic computer-generated structures. The
images above were generated directly on Voronoi lattices,
the geometry of which is not consistent with an
equilibrium foam. However, these are good starting
structures that can be modified to be consistent with the
physics of real foams.
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