Deformation behavior of open-cell stainless steel foams

This study presents the deformation and cell collapse behavior of open-cell stainless steel foams. 316L stainless-steel open-cell foams with two porosities (30 and 45 pores per inch, ppi) were produced with the pressureless powder metallurgical method, and tested in quasi-static compression. As a result of the manufacturing technique, 316L stainless steel open-cell foams have a high amount of microporosity. The deformation behavior was investigated on a macroscopic scale by digital image correlation (DIC) evaluation of light micrographs and on the microscopic scale by in situ loading of cells in the scanning electron microscope. The deformation behavior of the metal foams was highly affected by microstructural features, such as closed pores and their distribution throughout the foam specimen. Moreover, the closed pores made a contribution to the plateau stress of the foams through cell face stretching. Strut buckling and bending are the dominant mechanisms in cell collapse. Although there are edge defects on the struts, the struts have an enormous plastic deformation capability. The cell size of the steel foams had no significant effect on the mechanical properties. Due to the inhomogeneities in the microstructure, the measured plateau stresses of the foams showed about 20% scatter at the same relative density. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.