Research Article
Franc¸ois Pecqueux, Fra
Abstract
A biphasic calcium phosphate (BCP) powder is synthesized, mixed with various amounts of naphthalene particles, pressed and sintered at different temperatures to obtain ceramics with isolated macropores (from 3% to 52% of the specimen volume) and residual microporosity resulting from an incomplete sintering (from 2% to 45% of the ceramic matrix volume). Young’s modulus is measured on a classical three-point bending setup. A good agreement is found between an existing analytical model and the experimental Young’s modulus measurements, on the overall ranges of macro- and microporosity. The Young’s modulus variation as a function of macroporosity is also calculated by a finite element method, by simulating the mechanical response of a periodic tri-dimensional repetition of elemental cubes containing various dispersions of macropores. The contribution of the shape and dispersion (in size and location) of the macropores on the decrease of Young’s modulus as a function of porosity is simulated. Calculated trends are confirmed by experimental results.