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Evaluation of the anisotropic mechanical properties of reinforced polyurethane foams

Evaluation of the anisotropic mechanical properties of reinforced polyurethane foams
Evaluation of the anisotropic mechanical properties of reinforced polyurethane foams
The mechanical impact of adding milled glass fibers and nanoparticles at different mass fractions to low-density (relative density < 0.2) polyurethane (PU) foams is investigated. Tensile, compressive, and shear stress–strain curves are measured in the plane parallel to the foam-rise direction and the in-plane components of the elastic modulus are determined in order to assess the mechanical anisotropy of the foams. Power-law relationships between the moduli and apparent density are established for pure PU foams and used as a baseline to which the properties of composite foams are compared. Cellular mechanics models based on both rectangular and Kelvin unit-cell geometries are employed to estimate changes in the cell shape based on the mechanical anisotropy of composite foams, and the model results are compared with direct observations of the cellular structure from microscopy. A single measure of foam stiffness reinforcement is defined that excludes the effects of the apparent foam density and cell shape. The analysis reveals the large impact of cell shape on the moduli of the glass-fiber and nanocomposite foams. Nanocomposite foams exhibit up to an 11.1% degree of reinforcement, and glass-fiber foams up to 18.7% using this method for quantifying foam reinforcement, whereas a simple normalization to the in-plane modulus components of the pure PU foam would indicate from ?40.5% to 25.9% reinforcement in nanocomposite foams, and ?7.5 to 20.2% in glass-fiber foams.
A. particle-reinforced composites, A. nanocomposites, B. porosity/voids, C. elastic properties, cellular materials
0266-3538
210-217
Hamilton, A.R.
9088cf01-8d7f-45f0-af56-b4784227447c
Thomsen, O.T.
f3e60b22-a09f-4d58-90da-d58e37d68047
Madaleno, L.A.O.
765cab1d-beb4-4f72-8e7d-1608557e98ca
Jensen, L.R.
f3965360-0350-493a-9f95-5bba478eecf2
Rauhe, J.C.M.
ec56d60a-0061-42fc-aec5-e33f75260434
Pyrz, R.
e830cbe7-aa02-4e47-ae95-0bccba01ae26
Hamilton, A.R.
9088cf01-8d7f-45f0-af56-b4784227447c
Thomsen, O.T.
f3e60b22-a09f-4d58-90da-d58e37d68047
Madaleno, L.A.O.
765cab1d-beb4-4f72-8e7d-1608557e98ca
Jensen, L.R.
f3965360-0350-493a-9f95-5bba478eecf2
Rauhe, J.C.M.
ec56d60a-0061-42fc-aec5-e33f75260434
Pyrz, R.
e830cbe7-aa02-4e47-ae95-0bccba01ae26

Hamilton, A.R., Thomsen, O.T., Madaleno, L.A.O., Jensen, L.R., Rauhe, J.C.M. and Pyrz, R. (2013) Evaluation of the anisotropic mechanical properties of reinforced polyurethane foams. Composites Science and Technology, 87, 210-217. (doi:10.1016/j.compscitech.2013.08.013).

Record type: Article

Abstract

The mechanical impact of adding milled glass fibers and nanoparticles at different mass fractions to low-density (relative density < 0.2) polyurethane (PU) foams is investigated. Tensile, compressive, and shear stress–strain curves are measured in the plane parallel to the foam-rise direction and the in-plane components of the elastic modulus are determined in order to assess the mechanical anisotropy of the foams. Power-law relationships between the moduli and apparent density are established for pure PU foams and used as a baseline to which the properties of composite foams are compared. Cellular mechanics models based on both rectangular and Kelvin unit-cell geometries are employed to estimate changes in the cell shape based on the mechanical anisotropy of composite foams, and the model results are compared with direct observations of the cellular structure from microscopy. A single measure of foam stiffness reinforcement is defined that excludes the effects of the apparent foam density and cell shape. The analysis reveals the large impact of cell shape on the moduli of the glass-fiber and nanocomposite foams. Nanocomposite foams exhibit up to an 11.1% degree of reinforcement, and glass-fiber foams up to 18.7% using this method for quantifying foam reinforcement, whereas a simple normalization to the in-plane modulus components of the pure PU foam would indicate from ?40.5% to 25.9% reinforcement in nanocomposite foams, and ?7.5 to 20.2% in glass-fiber foams.

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More information

Accepted/In Press date: 10 August 2013
e-pub ahead of print date: 26 August 2013
Published date: October 2013
Keywords: A. particle-reinforced composites, A. nanocomposites, B. porosity/voids, C. elastic properties, cellular materials
Organisations: Faculty of Engineering and the Environment

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 381251
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/381251
ISSN: 0266-3538
PURE UUID: 1fb94efe-944b-4b99-b655-979cd4e2bf65
ORCID for A.R. Hamilton: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-4627-849X

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Date deposited: 04 Sep 2015 09:23
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 03:58

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Contributors

Author: A.R. Hamilton ORCID iD
Author: O.T. Thomsen
Author: L.A.O. Madaleno
Author: L.R. Jensen
Author: J.C.M. Rauhe
Author: R. Pyrz

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