Wheel with aluminum foam for tire cavity noise suppression

A wheel assembly comprising:

• a wheel concentrically disposed about a central axis, and including a spoke portion radially supporting a rim portion about a central axis, wherein the rim portion presents a radial outer surface relative to the central axis;
• a tire mounted to the wheel and cooperating with the wheel to define a tire cavity between the radial outer surface of the rim portion and the tire;
• a foamed aluminum portion supported by the wheel, and including a plurality of pores arranged to define an open-cell foam;
• wherein the plurality of pores of the foamed aluminum portion are disposed in fluid communication with the tire cavity.

A method of manufacturing a wheel assembly, the method comprising:

• casting a wheel to include a spoke portion radially supporting a rim portion about a central axis;
• casting a foamed aluminum portion to define a plurality of pores having a pore size between 0.1 mm and 4.0 mm;
• and
• attaching the foamed aluminum portion to the wheel such that the plurality of pores are disposed in fluid communication with an outer radial surface of the rim portion relative to the central axis.