FEM modeling of the response of porous Al in compression

In the present paper a 3D FEM model was used to study the response of a porous Al under compression loading, prepared by liquid metallurgy using TiH2 as foaming agent. A serial sectioning process based on subsequent digital-image recording was used to capture, reproduce and visualize the exact three-dimensional (3D) microstructure of the examined porous material. The generated 3D geometry of the porous Al was appropriately adjusted to build a FEM model simulating the compression of the porous Al. The obtained results allowed the visualization of the stress fields in the overall porous Al 3D-model. Moreover, the stress contour maps in several sections of the 3D-model revealed a detailed stress distribution and the mechanism of failure of the porous material, enabling thus a full investigation of its mechanical behaviour.