Open cell steel foams were successfully fabricated through the powder metallurgy route using urea granules as the water leachable space holder in the present study. The influence of different amounts of phosphorus (0, 0.5wt%, 1wt%, 2wt%, and 4wt%) was investigated on the cell morphology, porosity, microstructure of cell walls, and mechanical properties of steel foams. The cell morphology and microstructure of the cell walls were evaluated using an optical microscope equipped with image processing software and a scanning electron microscope equipped with an energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer. In addition, the compression tests were conducted on the steel foams using a universal testing machine. Based on microscopic images, the porous structure consists of spherical cells and irregularly shaped pores that are distributed in the cell walls. The results indicated that by increasing the phosphorus content, the porosity increases from 71.9% to 83.2%. The partially distributed ferrite and fine pearlite was observed in the microstructure of the cell walls, and α-Fe and Fe₃P eutectic extended between the boundaries of agglomerated iron particles. Furthermore, elastic and long saw-toothed plateau regions were observed before fracture in the compressional stress—strain curves. According to the results, by increasing the phosphorus content from 0 to 4wt%, the plateau region of the stress—strain curves shifts to the right and upward. Therefore, increasing phosphorus content causes improvement in the mechanical properties of steel foams.

在本研究中，通过尿素颗粒作为可浸出水的空间保持器，通过粉末冶金路线成功地制造了开孔钢泡沫。研究了不同含量的磷（0、0.5wt％，1wt％，2wt％和4wt％）对泡孔形貌，孔隙率，泡孔壁微结构和泡沫钢力学性能的影响。使用配备有图像处理软件的光学显微镜和配备有能量色散X射线光谱仪的扫描电子显微镜评价细胞壁的细胞形态和微观结构。另外，使用通用测试机对泡沫钢进行了压缩测试。基于显微图像，多孔结构由球形孔和分布在孔壁中的不规则形状的孔组成。结果表明，通过增加磷含量，孔隙率从71.9％增加到83.2％。在细胞壁的微观结构中观察到部分分布的铁素体和细小的珠光体，以及α-Fe和Fe₃ P共晶在团聚的铁颗粒的边界之间延伸。此外，在断裂之前，在压缩应力-应变曲线中观察到了弹性且长锯齿状的高原区域。根据结果​​，通过将磷含量从0wt％增加到4wt％，应力-应变曲线的平稳区域向右和向上移动。因此，磷含量的增加引起泡沫钢的机械性能的改善。