Evaluation of Credibility and Limitations of the Non- Rigid Registration of Micro-CT Images as a Tool for Local Strain Analysis

Aims Three dimensional (3D) porous structures exhibit very good mechanical properties and an attractive strength-to-weight ratio. Because of their high load bearing capabilities and outstanding energy absorption properties in combination with their lightweight, they are excellent engineering materials, which are nowadays often used in automobiles and aircrafts [1-2]. Beside their dependency on the composition and the microstructure of the raw material, the mechanical properties of porous structures also depend on the geometrical and morphological properties of the basic cell architecture [1, 2]. Therefore, the qualitative assessment of the local, actual 3D internal deformation occurring at the microscopic scale combined with a thorough morphological characterization is very important in order to understand the mechanical behaviour and capabilities of porous structures.