Principles of the design of highly porous layered composites working in the bending mode

A comparative analysis is made of the spesific mechanical characteristics of a sandwich-type laminated porous composite under bending. The external layers of the composite are compact while the internal layer consists of a highly porous material made by using a pore-forming agent. The specific stiffness, strength, and yield load as a function of the volume fraction of pores Θ and the porous/compact-layer thickness ratio λ are considered. The stiffness, strength, and yield load are shown to be affected by variations of Θ and λ when the weight of the composite is constant. Translated from Poroshkovaya Metallurgiya, Nos. 3/4(412), pp. 70–78, March–April, 2000.