Impact performance of innovative corrugated polystyrene foam for bicycle helmets

Polystyrene (PS) composite foams are an intriguing class of materials that are well established for thermal insulation in construction and lightweight recyclable components in automotives. Research has shown the remarkable properties of these foams in terms of thermal and sound insulation and fire retardancy that can be enhanced by incorporating carbon fillers such as graphite, graphene, and biochar. Several methods have been examined by researchers to mix carbon with the polystyrene matrix and prepare PS carbon composite foams, which can broadly be categorized into suspension polymerization, solution mixing and melt blending. These methodologies along with foaming techniques for the expansion of PS using various blowing agents are reviewed. We also review the most relevant research studies in the field of PS carbon composite foams for insulation (thermal and sound) and fire retardancy. Due to its high infrared radiation absorption capacity and hetero nucleating action, expandable graphite and graphene can lead to excellent thermal and sound insulation along with fire retardancy in a PS foam, thus resulting in significant energy savings in a building. Biochar, due to its inherent low thermal conductivity and nucleating action, modifies the foam morphology, leading to enhanced heat and sound absorption and thus is a low-cost renewable carbon alternative that promotes the circular economy.

“…Due to its excellent energy absorption characteristics, EPS is also used as an inner helmet foam liner in helmets to provide protection against head injuries. 46,47…”

Section: Applications Of Ps Foam In Construction and Automotive Sectorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Due to its excellent energy absorption characteristics, EPS is also used as an inner helmet foam liner in helmets to provide protection against head injuries. 46,47 Table 1 gives information about application of EPS in various automotive parts.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Polystyrene carbon composite foam with enhanced insulation and fire retardancy for a sustainable future: Critical review

Gaidhani,

Tribe,

Charpentier

2023

“…Polystyrene (PS) foams, as a kind of lightweight material, has been widely applied in construction, insulation, packaging, sports facilities, and transportation. [1][2][3][4] Therefore, it also has a significant market share in the foam market. In addition, since PS is recyclable, its waste minimizing property makes research on PS foam materials essential.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Preparing low-Density microcellular polystyrene foam by in-Situ fibrillated PTFE and supramolecular nucleator TMC-300 in the presence of sc-CO₂

Wang

et al. 2023

A method using in-situ fibrillated polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and octamethylenedicarboxylicdibenzoylhydrazide (TMC-300) supramolecular nucleator was presented to prepare low density polystyrene foams. This study used a torque rheometer in the molten compound preparation of PS/fibrillated-PTFE/TMC-300 composites. Scanning electron microscopy showed in-situ fibrillated polytetrafluoroethylene in Polystyrene melt and a nanofiber network with high aspect ratio. The formation of nanometer-sized fiber networks improved the melt viscoelasticity of matrices which promoted cell nucleation. As the results demonstrated, low-density foams with 11 μm average cell size were obtained using Polystyrene. The self-assembly nucleating agent TMC-300 was then introduced to the composite materials. TMC-300 and polytetrafluoroethylene as a composite cell nucleating agent were used in Polystyrene foams. Meanwhile, their nucleating efficiency was investigated. TMC-300 completed self-assembly in Polystyrene and served as composite nucleating agent in combination with polytetrafluoroethylene. Compared with the sample PS/PTFE-0.5, the average cell size of the sample PS/PTFE-0.5/TMC-2 had a reduction rate of 28.16% from 12.18 μm to 8.75 μm. The cell density increased by an order of magnitude. The composite nucleating agent was successful in controlling Polystyrene foam cell morphology, thus leading to the preparation of low-density Polystyrene microporous foams.

“…Foams have the benefit of being lightweight and are popular for use in crash pads and helmets. [19][20][21][22][23] There are also many parameters involved in the design of foam structures that can varied to change mechanical properties. For example, Rodriguez-Sanchez et al 24 studied how changes in the density of expanded polystyrene foam affect their energy absorption during compression testing to learn that higher density foams were more effective at absorbing energy at higher loading rates.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

3D printed geometrically tessellated sheets with origami-inspired patterns

Wickeler

2021

This study demonstrates that the impact energy absorption capabilities of flexible sheets can be significantly enhanced by implementing tessellated designs into their structure. Configurations of three tessellated geometries were tested; they included a triangular-based, a rectangular-based, and a novel square-based pattern. Due to their geometrical complexity, multiple configurations of these tessellations were printed from a rubber-like material using an inkjet printer with two different thicknesses (2 and 4 mm), and their ability to absorb impact energy was compared to an unpatterned inkjet-printed sheet. In addition, the effect of multi-sheets stacking was also tested. Due to the tailored structure, the impact testing showed that the single-layer sheets were more effective at absorbing impact loads, and experience less deformation, than their two-layer counterparts. The 4 mm thick tessellated patterns were most effective at absorbing impact loads; all three thick patterns measured about 40% lower impact forces transferred to the base of the samples compared to the unpatterned counterparts.