Compressive Behavior of Conductive Graphite Foams

This study describes the compressive mechanical properties of graphite foam as a function of relative density. Reported data include strengths, moduli, and a description of the damage progression. The compressive strength, as a function of density, exhibited good agreement with existing, empirical foam models. In addition, optical strain data provided insight into the damage evolution. Failure was observed to occur due to localized density variations that allowed for the weaker (i.e., less dense) layers to successively fail with increasing load. Note that this particular material is deemed “developmental” in that it is not yet commercially available and the processing conditions are still being optimized. Finally, detailed mechanical data is lacking for this class of material, and as a result, the properties and behavior reported here will aid in optimizing manufacturing and design efforts.