Characterization of Mechanical Behavior of Polyurethane Foams Using Digital Image Correlation

Abstract

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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