Preliminary screening experiments were used to determine the
range of values of volume percentage and particle size in the space
holder material. Values in the range of 65–90% for volume percentage
and 0.35–1.3 mm for mean sugar particle size were examined. For the
given sintering conditions, it was noted that foam shrinkage was the
prevailing mechanism influencing the structure and porosity of the
produced foam. In all the examined samples a volume shrinkage of
about 25% was observed leading to an actual porosity about 7% lower
than the initial volume percentage of sugar used