Performance of stainless steel foams produced by infiltration casting techniques

Ferritic (AISI 430) and austenitic (AISI 304) stainless steel foams were produced exploiting a process based on molten metal infiltration on ceramic model. In particular, SiC foundry filter was used as space holder and, after the solidification, it has been removed by hydrofluoric acid. The produced foams are featured by three different porosity grades (10, 20 and 30 PPI) and by constant relative density (0.60). The morphology, the mechanical properties and the corrosion resistance were studied and the results were correlated to the material, the porosity, the size and the distribution of the voids. Morphologically, the structure is arboreous open-cell foam featured by interconnected cavities. This aspect, combined with the high relative density, assures high compressive plateau stress, structural integrity and good deformability. The corrosive tests, according to the ASTM A262-Met.B and NACE TM-0284, permitted to identify possible application fields for these products.