Improvement of Mechanical Performance of Iron through Shape Providing

• Published in: Chūzō kōgaku Vol. 74; no. 12; pp. 795 - 799
• Main Author: Otsuka, Masahisa
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Japanese
• Published: Japan Foundry Engineering Society 25.12.2002
• ISSN: 1342-0429; 2185-5374
• DOI: 10.11279/jfes.74.795

The mechanical function of structures in addition to elasticity, endurance and fracture toughness, is significantly dependent on components' cross section shape. In this paper, in addition to discussing the above, cellular structure factor and mechanical properties in the porous materials are provided followed by discussing the behavior of open cell type iron foam that was produced by powder metallurgy technique. Mechanical properties may or may not be sensitive to micro composition. In certain situations just by altering cross sectional shapes, one can generate significant improvement in the mechanical characteristics. As seen in detail chart of materials properties, the materials can be evaluated based on their shape indicator factor. From this chart, the relationship between density and coefficient of elasticity for materials appropriate for beam application are plotted. In case of wood for example which is a natural porous material, the shape factor is superb while being poor for steel. In practical situations, when numerous micro pores are introduced in a tubular component, the overall performance of tube is greatly enhanced as per the analytical discussion of single open cell behavior along with iron foam micro-photographs reveal in details.