Mechanical Response of Porous Copper Manufactured by Lost Carbonate Sintering Process

Abstract

This paper investigated the mechanical response of porous copper manufactured by LCS under three-point bending and Charpy impact conditions. The effects of the compaction pressure and K2CO3 particle size used in producing the porous copper samples and the relative density of the samples were studied. The apparent modulus, flexural strength and energy absorption capacity in three-point bending tests increased exponentially with increasing relative density. The impact strength was not markedly sensitive to relative density and had values within 7 – 9 kJ/m2 for the relative densities in the range 0.17 – 0.31. The amount of energy absorbed by a porous copper sample in the impact test was much higher than that absorbed in the three-point bending test, impling that loading strain rate had a significant effect on the deformation mechanisms. Increasing compaction pressure and increasing K2CO3 particle size resulted in significant increases in the flexural strength and the bending energy absorption capacity, both owing to the reduced sintering defects.