Abstract
Porous materials, characterised by their cellular structure, have interesting combinations of physical and mechanical properties. In such a context, steel sponges could be employed as an alternative to light alloys in several applications needing a good compromise between weight and mechanical properties. In this work, a new approach is presented that uses a powder metallurgical replication technique to produce steel foams while using SiC spheres as a space holder. The processed sponges were characterised from a morphological, microstructural and mechanical point of view. The results of the characterisation demonstrated the feasibility and the repeatability of the proposed production route.
Acknowledgements
The authors acknowledge G. Spanò, C. Tromellini, A. Albertinetti, M. Quattrocchio and L. Rovatti for supplying the materials and for their technical support during process and characterisation.