Study on the Mechanical Properties and Energy Absorbing Capability of Polyurethane Microcellular Elastomers under Different Compressive Strain Rates

Abstract

Polyurethane microcellular elastomers (PUME) are good at impact protection and energy absorption, and belong to rate sensitive- and strain history-dependent materials. In this study, PUME with different densities of 800 kg/m3, 600 kg/m3 and 400 kg/m3 were prepared, then the compressive responses of PUME in the strain rate range of 0.001 s−1 to 3400 s−1 were systemically investigated. By studying the energy absorption and efficiency diagram of PUME, the compressive properties of materials with different densities under compressive impact load were described, which showed that PUME with a density of 600 kg/m3 had better performance. A visco–hyperelasticity–air constitutive model was established to describe the large deformation response of PUME at high strain rates. The model included three components: hyperelastic part, viscoelastic part and gas pressure part. Quasi-static and dynamic compression tests were used to determine the constitutive relations of seven parameters. The samples with a density of 600 kg/m3 at different strain rates were fitted by MATLAB software, and the constitutive model parameters were obtained. The comparison between the constitutive equation and the experimental results showed that there was a good consistency. The constitutive model can provide data support for simulation analysis and application of PUME as energy absorbing protective facilities.

Study on the effect of different polysiloxane surfactants on the properties of polyurethane microcellular eelastomers

“…The dynamic-to-static stiffness ratio is the ratio of dynamic stiffness to static stiffness. Based on DMA and quasi-static compression tests, PUMEs exhibited micro-phase separation structure viscoelastic behavior, and were non-ideal elastic materials [17] . The dynamic stiffness was higher than static stiffness, i.e., the dynamic and static stiffness ratio was greater than 1.…”

Alternative Method for Determination of Vibroacoustic Material Parameters for Building Applications

“…This material has very good features related to stiffness, dimensional stability, and damping. Materials derived from waste are also used, such as rubber granules [96][97][98] or polyurethanes [99][100][101][102]. The fact that polyurethanes can be recycled materials increases their potential in terms of sustainable development.…”

Assessment of frequency and amplitude dependence on the cyclic degradation of polyurethane foams

“…The viscoelastic properties of these materials enable them to be used for effective energy absorption in specific dynamic environments. [4][5][6][7] Once deployed in an application, foams undergo mechanical stresses including shocks and repetitive low-rate compressions. It is important that the This work was performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344.…”