Computational modeling of the plastic-damage behavior of porous MAX phase with aligned ellipsoid-like pores under uniaxial compression

•Mechanical properties of porous Ti2AlC with aligned ellipsoid-like pores are studied.•Micromechanics-based RVE method and FE method are adopted.•The effects of pore size and volume fraction are investigate.•The quasi-brittle behavior of porous Ti2AlC under compression is driven by local tensile failure.

The mechanical properties of porous MAX phase, namely porous Ti2AlC with aligned ellipsoid-like pores is studied in this study. Micromechanics based representative element volume (RVE) and finite element (FE) method are adopted in modeling porous Ti2AlC. A damage-plasticity coupled constitutive model considering different tensile and compressive behaviors is used in modeling the inelastic behavior of porous Ti2AlC under uniaxial compression. The effects of porosity volume fraction and pore size on elastic moduli and compressive behavior of the porous Ti2AlC systems are investigated. Numerical results show that unlike typical porous ceramic, porous Ti2AlC behaves like a quasi-brittle material under uniaxial compression, and the damage of porous Ti2AlC is mainly driven by localized tensile failure.