Finite element analysis of the open-cell nickel foam based on the Kelvin model

Nickel foam is mainly used for the battery electrode materials specifically for MH-Ni batteries, which can be widely used in the portable computers, the mobile phones and the hybrid electric vehicle. It is important to study the mechanical properties. The effects of the porosity and model type of the open cell nickel foam on the tensile behavior were investigated. With the finite element method based on Kelvin model in this paper. The results show that the Kelvin model is more resistant to deformation than the Gibson-Ashby model and is closer to the experiment results, and the bearing capacity decreasing as the porosity increasing.