Production of 17CrMoV5-11 steel sponges utilising powder metallurgical replication technique with SiC as space holder

Porous materials, characterised by their cellular structure, have interesting combinations of physical and mechanical properties. In such a context, steel sponges could be employed as an alternative to light alloys in several applications needing a good compromise between weight and mechanical properties. In this work, a new approach is presented that uses a powder metallurgical replication technique to produce steel foams while using SiC spheres as a space holder. The processed sponges were characterised from a morphological, microstructural and mechanical point of view. The results of the characterisation demonstrated the feasibility and the repeatability of the proposed production route.