Abstract
Polymeric foams including expanded polystyrene and low-density polyethylene have been used extensively in the design of military protective systems to help mitigate threats that can range from low velocity impacts to explosive events. Polymeric foams are significantly rate dependent and have very low wave speeds, which can complicate their response in specific conditions. In the present study, two polymeric foams were characterized in compression at quasi-static and high strain rates. Rates from 1 s−1 were obtained with a standard hydraulic test machine. Acrylic Hopkinson bars were used to generate compression rates on the order of 103 s−1. The two closed-cell polymeric foams investigated in this study were of similar density but with a significantly different macro-structure. Low and high strain rate testing on a relatively consistent cell-size material (low density polyethylene) demonstrated expected trends and results, while the effect of strain rate was masked for a material with high structural variability (expanded polystyrene).
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Ackowledgments
The authors would like to thank Jacques Blais of Defence Research and Development Canada – Valcartier for producing the SEM images and some of the quasi-static compression data presented in this paper. The authors would also like to thank Ed Fournier from Biokinetics and Associates for his role in the organisation of the material testing.
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© 2013 The Society for Experimental Mechanics, Inc.
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Ouellet, S., Cronin, D.S., Moulton, J., Petel, O.E. (2013). High Rate Characterization of Polymeric Closed-Cell Foams: Challenges Related to Size Effects. In: Chalivendra, V., Song, B., Casem, D. (eds) Dynamic Behavior of Materials, Volume 1. Conference Proceedings of the Society for Experimental Mechanics Series. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-4238-7_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-4238-7_4
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