Abstract: Higher strength and lower degradation rate of Fe compared to magnesium and zinc have made it the most reliable for orthopaedic reconstruction. Hence, this paper studies the morphological and mechanical characteristics of porous Fe fabricated using subtractive manufacturing for load bearing bone replacement. Three types of porous Fe (19%, 39% and 59%) were prepared and then modelled into a 3D model for finite element analysis. The mechanical properties evaluated through finite element analysis were then validated by the experimental results. Computational fluid dynamics was done in this study to evaluate the permeability and wall shear stress of the porous Fe. Correlations between morphological indices, mechanical properties, shear stress and permeability were then obtained. The mechanical behaviour of porous Fe investigated through finite element analysis was in good agreement with the experimental work. The mechanical properties of porous Fe specimen particularly sample C (modulus: 5.63 GPa and yield strength: 145.7 MPa) was tailored to the cancellous bone (modulus: 0.5 GPa – 18 GPa and yield strength: 101 MPa – 169.6 MPa). As the porosity increased, the performance of porous Fe regarding mechanical properties and morphological properties were enhanced.

Key words: mechanical characterization, morphology, finite element analysis, porous iron, shear stress, permeability