Influence of speed of testing and temperature on the behaviour of polyurethane foams
Keywords:
polyurethane foams, mechanical testing, microstructure, testing speed, temperatureAbstract
Polyurethane foams with densities of 35, 93, and 200 kg/m3 were tested in tension and compression at three levels of temperatures as: -60 °C, 23 °C, and 80 °C. The influence of speed of testing from 2 mm/min up to 6 m/s (0.0014 to 545/s) on the response of the foams is analyzed. Testing is done separately on the rise direction and on the in-plane direction of the foams and differences in their behaviour are commented. The variations of the modulus of elasticity, maximum stress at yielding, behaviour in the yielding region, and foam recovery are analyzed showing that they are density, speed of testing, direction of testing, and temperature dependent. For the foam with 200 kg/m3 density the influence of the coating on parallel surfaces – perpendicular to the rise direction – with epoxy or polyester resins is also discussed.
References
GIBSON, L.G., ASHBY, M.F. Cellular Solids. 2nd ed., Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1997.
MILLS, N.J., Polymer Foams Handbook, Butterworth-Heinemann, 2007.
WARREN, W.E., KRAYNIK, A.M., Linear elastic behavior of a low-density Kelvin foam with open cells, Transactions ASME Journal of Applied Mechanics, 64, pp. 787-795, 1997.
RUSCH, K.C. Load – compression behavior of flexible foams, Journal of Applied Polymer Science, 13, pp. 2297-2311, 1969.
AKAY, M. HANNA, R., A comparison of honeycomb-core and foam-core carbon-fibre/epoxy sandwich panel, Composites, 21, pp. 325-331, 1990.
MINES, R.A.W., WORRAL, C.M., GIBSON, A.G., The static and impact behaviour of polymer composite sandwich beams, Composites, 25, 95-110, 1994.
MINES, R.A.W., JONES, N., Approximate elastic–plastic analysis of the static and impact behaviour of polymer composite sandwich beams, Composites, 26, pp 803-814, 1995.
LI, Q.M., MINES, R.A.W., Strain measures for rigid crushable foam in uniaxial compression, Strain, 38, pp. 132-140, 2002.
JIN, H., H. LU, W.-Y., SCHEFFEL, S., HINNERICHS, T.D., NEILSEN, M.K., Full-field characterization of mechanical behavior of polyurethane foams, International Journal of Solids and Structures, 44, pp. 6930-6944, 2007.
GONG, L., KYRIAKIDES, L. S., JANG, W.Y., Compressive response of open-cell foams. part I: Morphology and elastic properties, International Journal of Solids and Structures, 42, pp. 1355-1379, 2005.
GONG, L. KYRIAKIDES, L. S., Compressive response of open-cell foams. part II: Initiation and evolution of crushing, International Journal of Solids and Structures, 42, pp. 1381-1399, 2005.
VOGEL, J., KELLER, J., SVIRIDOV, A., FEIGE, H-J., KREYSSIG, K. J., PLASS, P., WALTER, H., Characterization of strength behaviour of aluminium foam sandwiches under static load, Strain, suppl. s1, pp. 234-242, 2011.
OUELLET, S., CRONIN, D., WORSWICK,, M., Compressive response of polymeric foams under quasi-static, medium and high strain rate conditions, Polymer Testing, 25, pp. 731-743, 2006.
APOSTOL, D.A., MIRON, M.C., CONSTANTINESCU, D.M., Experimental evaluation of the mechanical properties of foams used in sandwich composites, Proceedings of 24th DANUBIA-ADRIA Symposium on Developments in Experimental Mechanics, Sibiu, pp. 35- 36, 2007.
MARSAVINA, L., SADOWSKI, T., CONSTANTINESCU, D.M., NEGRU, R., Polyurethane foams behaviour. Experiments versus modelling, Key Engineering Materials, 399, pp. 123- 130, 2009.
ISO 527-1:1993, Plastics – Determination of tensile properties – Part 1: General principles.
ASTM D 1621-00, Standard Test Method for Compressive Properties of Rigid Cellular Plastics.
BS EN ISO 3386-1:1998, Polymeric materials, cellular flexible – Determination of stress-strain characteristic in compression – Part 1: Low-density materials.
Published
Issue
Section
Copyright (c) 2020 The Romanian Journal of Technical Sciences. Applied Mechanics.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.