The finite element method (FEM) is used to study the influence of porosity and pore shape on the elastic properties of model porous ceramics. The Young's modulus of each model was found to be practically independent of the solid Poisson's ratio. At a sufficiently high porosity, the Poisson's ratio of the porous models converged to a fixed value independent of the solid Poisson's ratio. The Young's modulus of the models is in good agreement with experimental data. We provide simple formulae which can be used to predict the elastic properties of ceramics, and allow the accurate interpretation of empirical property-porosity relations in terms of pore shape and structure.

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