Mechanical Properties of Polyurethane-Foam Impact Limiters
Publication: Journal of Engineering Mechanics
Volume 121, Issue 4
Abstract
Rigid, closed-cell, polyurethane foams possess excellent energy-absorbing properties and are used as impact limiters for various packaging applications. They can absorb large quantities of energy as they transmit a stress equal to their crushing strength. Recently, their mechanical properties have come under increased scrutiny due to applications in nuclear-waste shipment packages. In such an application, the material is subjected to multiaxial state of stress. Strain-rate effects due to the dynamic nature of the loading in an hypothetical accident situation is also likely to be encountered. This paper describes a number of tests performed on polyurethane foams of various densities along several loading paths. These include uniaxial, hydrostatic and triaxial compression. Strain-rate effects were also studied under compressive loading. Since the material is significantly anisotropic, the experimental data are used to infer elasticity parameters and the shape of the anisotropic yield surface. Some strain-rate effects are also examined.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
1.
Carpenteri, A. (1986). Mechanical damage and crack growth in concrete . Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, the Netherlands.
2.
Chan, R., and Nakamura, M. (1969). “Mechanical properties of plastic foams.”J. Cellular Mater., Mar./Apr., 112–118.
3.
Chen, W. F., and Han, D. J. (1987). Plasticity for structural engineering . Springer-Verlag, 110.
4.
Desai, C. S., and Siriwardane, H. J. (1984). Constitutive laws for engineering materials with emphasis on geologic materials . Prentice-Hall Inc., Englewood Cliffs, N.J.
5.
Gent, A. N., and Thomas, A. G.(1959). “The deformation of foamed elastic materials.”J. Appl. Polymer Sci., 15, 107–113.
6.
Gibson, L. J. (1989). “Modelling the mechanical behavior of cellular materials.”Mater. Sci. and Engrg., A110, 1–36.
7.
Gibson, L. J., and Ashby, M. F. (1988). Cellular solids, structure and properties . Pergamon Press, New York, N.Y.
8.
Gibson, L. J., Ashby, M. F., Schager, G. S., and Robertson, C. I. (1982). “The mechanics of two-dimensional cellular materials.”Proc., Royal Society London, England, A382, 25–42.
9.
Gibson, L. J., Ashby, M. F., Zhang, J., and Triantafillou, T. C.(1989). “Failure surfaces for cellular materials under multiaxial loads—I. modelling,”Int. J. Mech. Sci., 31, 635–663.
10.
Glass, R. E., Neilsen, M. K., Donald, S., and Maji, A. K. (1990). Static testing of aluminum honeycombs and polyurethane foams . Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, N.M.
11.
Hinckley, W. M., and Yang, J. C. S. (1975). “Analysis of rigid polyurethane foam as a shock mitigator.”Exper. Mech., May, 177–183.
12.
Huang, J. S., and Gibson, L. J.(1991). “Creep of polymer foams,”J. Mater. Sci., 26, 637–647.
13.
Ko, W. L. (1965). “Deformation of foamed elastomers.”J. Cell. Plastics, Jan., 45–50.
14.
Lederman, J. M.(1971). “The prediction of the tensile properties of flexible foams.”J. Appl. Polymer Sci., 15, 693–703.
15.
LeMaitre, J., and Chaboche, J. (1990). Mechanics of solid materials . Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, U.K., 183–185.
16.
Maji, A. K., Neilsen, M. K., Glass, R. E., and Satpathi, D. (1990). Dynamic testing of impact limiter materials . Sandia Nat. Lab., Albuquerque, N.M.
17.
Matonis, V. (1964). “Elastic behavior of low density, rigid foams in structural applications.”SPE J., Sep., 1024–1030.
18.
Neilsen, M. K., Morgan, H. S., and Krieg, R. D. (1987). “A phenomenological constitutive model for low density polyurethane foams.”SAND86-2927, Sandia Nat. Lab., Albuquerque, N.M.
19.
Patel, M. R., and Finnie, I. (1970). “Structural features and mechanical properties of rigid cellular plastics.”J. Mater., 909–932.
20.
“Safety analysis report for the TRUPACT-II Shipping Package.” (1989). NRC Docket No. 71-9218, Nuclear Packaging Inc., Federal Way, Wash.
21.
“Sandwich construction and core materials, general test methods.” (1967). MIL-STD-401B .
22.
Shaw, M. C., and Sata, T.(1966). “The plastic behavior of cellular materials.”Int. J. Mech. Sci., 8, 469–478.
23.
“Standard test method for compressive properties of rigid cellular plastics.” (1990). Annual book of ASTM standards, Vol. 08.02, Plastics (II); ASTM, Philadelphia, Pa., D1601–D3099.
24.
Triantafillou, T. C., Zhang, J., Shercliff, T. L., Gibson, L. J., and Ashby, M. F.(1989). “Failure surfaces for cellular materials under multiaxial loads—II. Comparison of models with experiment.”Int. J. Mech. Sci., 31, 665–678.
25.
Triantafillou, T. C., and Gibson, L. J.(1990a). “Constitutive modeling of elastic-plastic open-cell foams.”J. Engrg. Mech., ASCE, 116(12), 2722–2778.
26.
Triantafillou, T. C., and Gibson, L. J.(1990b). “Multiaxial failure criteria for brittle foams.”Int. J. Mech. Sci., 32, 479–496.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Engineering Mechanics
Volume 121 • Issue 4 • April 1995
Pages: 528 - 540
Copyright
Copyright © 1995 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Published online: Apr 1, 1995
Published in print: Apr 1995
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.