Compressive properties of porous metal fiber sintered sheet produced by solid-state sintering process

A novel porous metal fiber sintered sheet (PMFSS) with three-dimensional reticulated structure was fabricated by using solid-state sintering method of copper fibers. Uniaxial compressive test was carried out to investigate the effects of porosity and manufacturing parameters on the compressive properties of PMFSS. During the compressive process, it was found that the PMFSS initially exhibited short-term elastic deformation, and then quickly entered into the compact densification deformation stage. The stress–strain plots showed no obvious yield stage in the whole uniaxial compressive process. Under given stress, the PMFSS with higher porosity exhibited higher strain, hence implying lower effective stiffness. Additionally, our results showed that higher sintering temperature or longer sintering time would soften the PMFSS.