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Experimental study of the dynamic behaviour of loaded polyurethane foam free fall investigation and evaluation of microstructure

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Abstract

We aim to maintain as much control over the microstructure development during the manufacture of polyurethane foam with a specific density. As a result, the finished product contains the shock absorber’s required characteristics. That is why polyurethane foam loaded with zinc oxide and silica must sustain the cellular structure and strengthen it. First, mechanical characterization was carried out utilizing a dynamic drop impact test conducted on locally developed and constructed equipment. Polyurethane foams’ mechanical properties rely on their density, cell structure (size and shape), and the fraction of open or closed cells. Within the cell structure, the foam may be directed preferentially. Following that, Raman spectroscopy and SEM investigation to visualize the semi-opened cells of the cellular polymer. The cellular polymer appears to possess permanent, regular cellular structures with a high degree of reversibility in terms of overlap.

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the Materials Engineering Laboratory (LGM) team, at the Polytechnic Military School EMP, in collaboration with the Polymer Materials Engineering laboratory of Lyon IMP/INSA, for supervising this work. I especially want to thank the Mechanical Design and Fabrication CFM team for their contributions to the research.

Funding

This research was funded by the General Directorate of Scientific Research and Technological Development DG-RSDT grant number #Projects PNE/2019-EMP, and was funded by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MESRS).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire Génie Des Matériaux, Ecole Militaire Polytechnique, BP 17 Bordj El-Bahri, 16214, Algiers, Algeria

    Noureddine Boumdouha, Zitouni Safidine & Achraf Boudiaf

  2. UMR CNRS 5223 Ingénierie Des Matériaux Polymères, Université de Lyon, INSA Lyon, 20, Avenue Albert Einstein, 69621, Villeurbanne, France

    Jannick Duchet-Rumeau & Jean-François Gerard

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  1. Noureddine Boumdouha
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  2. Zitouni Safidine
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  3. Achraf Boudiaf
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  4. Jannick Duchet-Rumeau
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  5. Jean-François Gerard
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Contributions

Conceptualization and methodology B.N., S.Z., and G.J.-F.; software, B.N.; formal analysis D.R.-J.; investigation, B.A. and G.J.-F.; resources, G.J.-F. and B.N.; data curation, B.N. and G.J.-F.; writing—original draft preparation, B.N., S.Z., B.A., and G.J.-F.; writing—review and editing, B.N., G.J.-F., S.Z., and B.A.; visualization, supervision, project administration, S.Z. and G.J.-F.; funding acquisition, B.N. and B.A. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Noureddine Boumdouha.

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Boumdouha, N., Safidine, Z., Boudiaf, A. et al. Experimental study of the dynamic behaviour of loaded polyurethane foam free fall investigation and evaluation of microstructure. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 120, 3365–3381 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-022-08963-1

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