Cell morphology, porosity, microstructure and mechanical properties of porous Fe–C–P alloys

Open cell steel foams were successfully fabricated through the powder metallurgy route using urea granules as the water leachable space holder in the present study. The influence of different amounts of phosphorus (0, 0.5wt%, 1wt%, 2wt%, and 4wt%) was investigated on the cell morphology, porosity, microstructure of cell walls, and mechanical properties of steel foams. The cell morphology and microstructure of the cell walls were evaluated using an optical microscope equipped with image processing software and a scanning electron microscope equipped with an energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer. In addition, the compression tests were conducted on the steel foams using a universal testing machine. Based on microscopic images, the porous structure consists of spherical cells and irregularly shaped pores that are distributed in the cell walls. The results indicated that by increasing the phosphorus content, the porosity increases from 71.9% to 83.2%. The partially distributed ferrite and fine pearlite was observed in the microstructure of the cell walls, and α-Fe and Fe₃P eutectic extended between the boundaries of agglomerated iron particles. Furthermore, elastic and long saw-toothed plateau regions were observed before fracture in the compressional stress–strain curves. According to the results, by increasing the phosphorus content from 0 to 4wt%, the plateau region of the stress–strain curves shifts to the right and upward. Therefore, increasing phosphorus content causes improvement in the mechanical properties of steel foams.