Effects of Heat Treatment Process on Morphology and Properties of Foam Iron

A layer of copper was coated on polyurethane foam substrate surface by chemical plating first, and iron electro-deposition was followed, then the polyurethane was pyrolysed, and finally, the foam iron was heated under a reduced atmosphere. The effect of heat treatment on the structure and properties of foamed iron and the effect of pyrolysis on properties of the foam iron were studied. The results show that the mechanical properties of the foam iron could be enhanced when the polyurethane was pyrolysed in nitrogen atmosphere. It could effectively make foam iron eliminating brittleness and reducing defects when the heat treatment was performed above phase-transition temperature; and fairly good mechanical properties could be obtained after the foam iron was treated at 960 ℃ for 2 h in reducing atmosphere.