Processing and Characterization of Dual Phase Steel Foams Featured by Different Pore Distribution

Abstract

AbstractPorous materials featuring cellular structures are known to have many interesting combinations of physical and mechanical properties. Some of them have been extensively used in structural applications (i.e. balsa wood), as well as in functional applications (heat exchangers, filters, etc.). Steel foams present promising theoretical properties for both functional and structural applications, but processing such kind of foams is complex due to their high melting temperature. Starting from a technique based on molten metal infiltration into a ceramic space holder, a new process is presented here for open‐cell steel sponges processing. Using a SiC cellular preforms as a space holder, dual phase steels foams with different porosity and steel microstructure were successfully developed.This technique is suitable to obtain steel alloy sponges featured by a relative density equal to 0,6 and interconnected pores. The compression tests indicate that the resulting material features the typical stress‐strain behaviour of classical cellular metals. Moreover mechanical properties, such as Elastic Modulus, σplateau, εdensification and Eabsorbed, depended on porosity and on martensite fraction, which is a function of the applied intercritical temperature.