The low density related to the high strength of the structure and the special features of metal foams make it possible to develop special components. To design the properties of such components, for example, the finite element method offers a cheap possibility for simulations. This requires the development of a model for foamed materials. In contrast to a microscopic approach, the Theory of Porous Media (TPM) allows a macroscopic continuum mechanical description for metal foams on the the basis of a real or a virtual homogenisation over the microstructure. In particular, a gas-filled solid material is taken into consideration including finite elastic and finite elasto-plastic constitutive equations for the solid matrix combined with convenient constitutive relations for the viscous pore-fluid and the respective interaction mechanisms between the constituents. [References: 4]
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