Page 27 - MSAM-4-2

Materials Science in

Additive Manufacturing

REVIEW ARTICLE
Porosity and density measurement of additively

manufactured components: A comparative
analysis of measurement methods across

processes and materials

1
Erik Westphal * and Hermann Seitz 1,2
1 Chair of Microfluidics, University of Rostock, Rostock, Germany
2 Department of Life, Light & Matter, University of Rostock, Rostock, Germany

Abstract

Part density and part porosity are important parameters for additively manufactured
(AM) components, as they significantly influence mechanical properties and
indicate printing process’s quality. Various measurement methods are available
such as gas pycnometry, gravimetric density measurements (Archimedes’ principle),
and micrograph analyses. This study compared these methods by analyzing
test specimens made from different materials using diverse AM processes. AM
components made of metal, ceramic, and plastic as well as composites were analyzed
with regard to part density and porosity. The results provided new findings on part
*Corresponding author: density and porosity in AM processes and materials. Furthermore, they demonstrated
Erik Westphal
(erik.westphal@uni-rostock.de) the suitability of the employed measurement methods for certain purposes. In this
context, it is always important to distinguish between the determination of true and
Citation: Westphal E, Seitz H.
Porosity and density measurement apparent density. Gas pycnometry is best suited for determining the true density
of additively manufactured and enables the most accurate density measurement. Gravimetric measurement
components: A comparative according to Archimedes’ principle is generally best suited for determining the
analysis of measurement
methods across processes and apparent density, which is more relevant for characterizing the technical properties
materials. Mater Sci Add Manuf. of AM components. Micrograph analyses are the only investigated method that
2025;4(2):025090010. shows the position of the pores in the component. However, the method generally
doi: 10.36922/MSAM025090010 only allows statements to be made in the sectional plane under consideration. In
Received: February 27, 2025 addition, gas pycnometry is preferable for very dense AM components and the
Revised: March 27, 2025 Archimedes method for porous parts. Finally, the results can be generalized and
recommendations for measuring porosity and density can be concluded for other
Accepted: April 7, 2025 AM processes.
Published online: May 7, 2025
Copyright: © 2025 Author(s). Keywords: Additive manufacturing; True density; Apparent density; Open porosity;
This is an Open-Access article
distributed under the terms of the Closed porosity
Creative Commons Attribution
License, permitting distribution,
and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is
properly cited. 1. Introduction
Publisher’s Note: AccScience Additive manufacturing (AM) is a manufacturing technology for the layer-by-layer creation
Publishing remains neutral with of objects from three-dimensional (3D) model data. The technology is divided into seven
regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional different process categories according to International Organization for Standardization
1
affiliations. (ISO)/American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) 52900. Table 1 provides an

Volume 4 Issue 2 (2025) 1 doi: 10.36922/MSAM025090010