Characterization of three- and four-point bending properties of porous metal fiber sintered sheet

• Both three- and four-point bending setup were established.
• Similar three stages in three- and four-point bending fracture process were observed.
• The bending strength was decreased with increasing porosity.
• Higher sintering temperature produced higher bending strength.
• The extension of holding time slightly affected the bending strength.

A novel porous metal fiber sintered sheet (PMFSS) with high porosity was fabricated by the solid-state sintering method of copper fibers. In this study, both three- and four-point bending setup were established to characterize the bending properties of PMFSS. Similar three stages in the three- and four-point bending fracture process were observed for the PMFSS with 80% porosity sintered at 900 °C for 60 min. Comparing with the three-point bending, it is found that much smaller bending force was obtained in the four-point bending test under the same displacement conditions. Moreover, the porosity and sintering parameters were also varied to investigate the influence on the bending properties of PMFSS. Both three- and four-point bending strength were found to be decreased with increasing porosity ranging from 70% to 90%. Higher sintering temperature produced higher bending strength for the PMFSS sintered in the temperature range of 700–1000 °C. Besides, the extension of holding time also could slightly affect the bending strength.