Strength scale behavior of nanoporous Ag, Pd and Cu foams

A comprehensive study of the deformation mode for nanoporous Au, Pd, Cu and Ag foams is presented. Several nanoporous models that include surface, nodes and ligament size effects are investigated within the scope of elastic buckling or plastic collapse foam models. The predictions from the deformation models are then compared to experimental foams hardness values for a wide range of ligament sizes. Results show that plastic collapse appears to be the dominant failure mode for all the nanoporous foams. Small deviations from the plastic collapse models are attributed to irregular cell size and relative density estimations.