Production of porous permeable materials with a prearranged structure from continuous metal fibers

Abstract

1. A compact of a material from knitted gauzes constitutes, because of its loop structure, a spring-like fibrous'skeleton exhibiting a targe elastic aftereffect, which manifests itself even in the course of sintering. 2. In the production of materials of low porosity and predetermined thickness it is preferable to employ a process consisting of double sintering with intermediate pressing, which enables pressing to be carried out at a lower pressure and facilitates the attainment of the required thickness. 3. Sintering under pressure is the most effective method of producing high-porosity materials of predetermined thickness from knitted gauzes. 4. The strength of vacuum-sintered porous materials from knitted gauzes grows as their sintering temperature approaches the melting point of the material of their fibers. The optimum sintering time lies in the range 2.5–3.5 h. 5. During sintering in a vacuum partial loss of material from the fiber surfaces is observed, the extent of which grows with increase in porosity.