The shear properties and deformation mechanisms of porous metal fiber sintered sheets

Porous metal fiber sintered sheets (MFSSs) are a type of layered transversely isotropic open cell materials with low relative density (i.e., volume fraction of fibers), high specific stiffness and strength, and controllable precision for functional and structural applications. Based on a non-contact optical full field strain measurement system, the in-plane and transverse shear properties of SMFFs with relative densities ranging from 15% to 34% are investigated. For the in-plane shear, the modulus and strength are found to depend linearly upon the relative density. The associated deformation is mainly due to fiber stretching, accompanied by the direction change of metal fibers. When the shear loading is applied in the transverse direction, the deformation of the material is mainly owing to fiber bending, followed by the separation failure of the fiber joints. Measured results show that the transverse shear modulus and strength have quartic and cubic dependence upon the relative density respectively and are much lower than their in-plane counterparts. Simple micromechanics models are proposed for the in-plane and transverse moduli and strengths of MFSSs in shear. The predicted relationships between the shear mechanical properties of MFSSs and their relative density are obtained and are in good agreement with the measured ones.