Mechanical properties and micromechanics of porous materials

This paper studies the mechanical properties of a few common porous materials: carbon rods, ceramics, polymeric foams and bricks. The characterisation of pore structures was performed using a Mercury Porosimeter. Detailed information was obtained on the density, porosity, surface area and pore size distribution. A large number of experiments on either bending or compression was conducted in order to obtain macro-mechanical properties such as Young’s modulus, hardness and strength. Based on the experimental observations, theoretical models were employed to predict the macroscopic properties from the micromechanics viewpoint. By studying the deformation of pores the global behaviour was calculated. The study has provided insights into the mechanical properties of porous materials.