Mechanical charactristics of metallic hollow sphere structure

Structure of metallic hollow spheres (MHS structure) is one of ultra-light porous metals. The ultra-light structure to car parts has a possibility to reduce CO₂ emission because MHS structures can reduce the car weight without decreasing the rigidity and energy absorbing performance. In this research, to estimate the performance of MHS structures, deformation behaviour of single MHS and the structure are examined by uniaxial compression test and bending test. In the compression test, plateau stress appears for the structure of low density. MHS diameter, shell thickness and carbon content have influences to the magnitude of plateau stress and the mechanical properties mainly depend on the density of the structure. In bending test, MHS structure fails in tension side with very low-tensile stress.