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Determination of mechanical properties of PVC foam using a modified Arcan fixture

Determination of mechanical properties of PVC foam using a modified Arcan fixture
Determination of mechanical properties of PVC foam using a modified Arcan fixture
The design and development of a modified Arcan fixture (MAF) is described. The purpose of the fixture is to characterise polymer foam materials with respect to their tensile, compressive, shear and bidirectional mechanical properties. The MAF enables the application of pure compression or high compression to shear bidirectional loading conditions that is not possible with conventional Arcan fixtures. The tensile and shear behaviour to failure of a cross-linked Divinycell H100 PVC foam core material are studied using Digital Image Correlation (DIC). A detailed investigation of the parasitic effects of the fixture and misalignment of the fixture and loading machine are discussed. Thermoelastic Stress Analysis (TSA) is used to directly examine and validate the uniformity and symmetry of the stress fields obtained for both tensile and shear specimens. To account for the inhomogeneity of the strain field across the specimen cross sections, a “correction factor” for the measured “gauge section” surface strains has been determined using nonlinear finite element analysis (FEA). The outcome is a set of validated mechanical properties that are in excellent agreement with material property measurements conducted using conventional test tensile and shear test fixtures.
foams, environmental degradation, finite element analysis (FEA), mechanical testing
1359-835X
1678-1708
Taher, S.T.
9c7fba7b-ec7d-4a8a-be6a-55a73bcd4d09
Thomsen, O.T.
f3e60b22-a09f-4d58-90da-d58e37d68047
Dulieu-Barton, J.M.
9e35bebb-2185-4d16-a1bc-bb8f20e06632
Zhang, S.
76640b2c-83c0-4a90-bcd8-939ffb2505aa
Taher, S.T.
9c7fba7b-ec7d-4a8a-be6a-55a73bcd4d09
Thomsen, O.T.
f3e60b22-a09f-4d58-90da-d58e37d68047
Dulieu-Barton, J.M.
9e35bebb-2185-4d16-a1bc-bb8f20e06632
Zhang, S.
76640b2c-83c0-4a90-bcd8-939ffb2505aa

Taher, S.T., Thomsen, O.T., Dulieu-Barton, J.M. and Zhang, S. (2012) Determination of mechanical properties of PVC foam using a modified Arcan fixture. [in special issue: CompTest 2011] Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing, 43 (10), 1678-1708. (doi:10.1016/j.compositesa.2011.11.010).

Record type: Article

Abstract

The design and development of a modified Arcan fixture (MAF) is described. The purpose of the fixture is to characterise polymer foam materials with respect to their tensile, compressive, shear and bidirectional mechanical properties. The MAF enables the application of pure compression or high compression to shear bidirectional loading conditions that is not possible with conventional Arcan fixtures. The tensile and shear behaviour to failure of a cross-linked Divinycell H100 PVC foam core material are studied using Digital Image Correlation (DIC). A detailed investigation of the parasitic effects of the fixture and misalignment of the fixture and loading machine are discussed. Thermoelastic Stress Analysis (TSA) is used to directly examine and validate the uniformity and symmetry of the stress fields obtained for both tensile and shear specimens. To account for the inhomogeneity of the strain field across the specimen cross sections, a “correction factor” for the measured “gauge section” surface strains has been determined using nonlinear finite element analysis (FEA). The outcome is a set of validated mechanical properties that are in excellent agreement with material property measurements conducted using conventional test tensile and shear test fixtures.

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More information

e-pub ahead of print date: 4 December 2011
Published date: October 2012
Keywords: foams, environmental degradation, finite element analysis (FEA), mechanical testing
Organisations: Engineering Mats & Surface Engineerg Gp

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 339258
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/339258
ISSN: 1359-835X
PURE UUID: 78063c36-3319-4ea2-ad4f-a8187cce27e1

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 25 May 2012 10:48
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 11:12

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Contributors

Author: S.T. Taher
Author: O.T. Thomsen
Author: S. Zhang

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