The foam material of interest in this investigation is a rigid closed-cell polyurethane foam PMDI with a nominal density of 20 pcf (320 kg/m 3 ). Three separate types of compression experiments were conducted on foam specimens. The heterogeneous deformation of foam specimens and strain concentration at the foam-steel interface were obtained using the 3-dimensional digital image correlation (3D-DIC) technique. These experiments demonstrated that the 3D-DIC technique is able to obtain accurate and full-field large deformation of foam specimens, including strain concentrations. The experiments also showed the effects of loading configurations on deformation and strain concentration in foam specimens. These DIC results provided experimental data to validate the previously developed viscoplastic foam model (VFM). In the first experiment, cubic foam specimens were compressed uniaxially up to 60%. The full-field surface displacement and strain distributions obtained using the 3D-DIC technique provided detailed information about the inhomogeneous deformation over the area of interest during compression. In the second experiment, compression tests were conducted for cubic foam specimens with a steel cylinder inclusion, which imitate the deformation of foam components in a package under crush conditions. The strain concentration at the interface between the steel cylinder and the foam specimen was studied in detail. In the third experiment, the foam specimens were loaded by a steel cylinder passing through the center of the specimens rather than from its end surface, which created a loading condition of the foam components similar to a package that has been dropped. To study the effects of confinement, the strain concentration and displacement distribution over the defined sections were compared for cases with and without a confinement fixture. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

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Polyurethane foams have good energy absorption properties and are effective in protecting sensitive components from damages due to impact. The foam absorbs impact energy by crushing cells and undergoing large deformation. The complex deformation of the foam needs to be modeled accurately to simulate the impact events. In this paper, the Digital Image Correlation (DIC) technique was implemented to obtain the deformation field of foam specimens under compression tests. Images of foam specimen were continuously acquired using high-speed cameras. The full field displacement and strain at each incremental step of loading were calculated from these images. The closed-cell polyurethane foam used in this investigation was nominal 0.32 kg/m^3 (20 pcf). In the first experiment, cubic specimens were compressed uniaxially up to 60%. The full-field displacements and strains obtained using the DIC technique provide detailed information about the inhomogeneous deformation over the area of interest during loading. In the second experiment, compression tests were conducted for a simple foam structure - cubic foam specimens with a steel cylinder inclusion. The strain concentration at the interface between steel cylinder and foam was studied to simulate the deformation of foam in a typical application. In the third experiment, the foam was loaded from the steel cylinder during the compression. The strain concentration at the interface and the displacement distribution over the surface were compared for cases with and without a confinement fixture to study the effects of confinement. These experimental results demonstrate that the DIC technique can be applied to polyurethane foams to study the heterogeneous deformation. The experimental data is briefly compared with the results from modeling and simulation using a viscoplastic model for the foam.

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The LENS Qualification team had the goal of performing a process qualification for the Laser Engineered Net Shaping™(LENS®) process. Process Qualification requires that a part be selected for process demonstration. The AY1E0125 D-Bottle Bracket from the W80-3 was selected for this work. The repeatability of the LENS process was baselined to determine process parameters. Six D-Bottle brackets were deposited using LENS, machined to final dimensions, and tested in comparison to conventionally processed brackets. The tests, taken from ES1E0003, included a mass analysis and structural dynamic testing including free-free and assembly-level modal tests, and Haversine shock tests. The LENS brackets performed with very similar characteristics to the conventionally processed brackets. Based on the results of the testing, it was concluded that the performance of the brackets made them eligible for parallel path testing in subsystem level tests. The testing results and process rigor qualified the LENS process as detailed in EER200638525A.