Strain localization in open-cell polyurethane foams: experiments and theoretical model

Giampiero Pampolini (1, 2) , Gianpietro del Piero (2)

1 LMA - Laboratoire de Mécanique et d'Acoustique [Marseille]
2 Dipartimento di Ingeneria di Ferrara

Confined compression tests performed by the authors on open-cell polyurethane foams reveal the presence of strain localization. After a brief description of the experiments, a theoretical model is proposed. In the model, the foam is represented as a chain of elastic springs with a two-phase strain energy density, and the strain localization is due to a progressive collapse of the springs. The collapse is a sort of continuum instability, which can be attributed to phase transition. An appropriate choice of the material constants leads to a close reproduction of the experimental force-elongation response curves.

Domaines: Mécanique des solides [physics.class-ph]; Mécanique des solides [physics.class-ph]

Giampiero Pampolini, Gianpietro del Piero. Strain localization in open-cell polyurethane foams: experiments and theoretical model. Journal of Mechanics of Materials and Structures, 2008, 3 (5), pp.969-981. ⟨hal-00462199⟩