Papers by Keyword: Closed Cells

Abstract: This paper presents the size effect on fracture toughness of polyurethane foams (PUR 40), with nominal density 40 kg/m3, closed-cell rigid foams widely used for sandwich cores. Determination of the fracture toughness was carried out by three-point bending tests (TPB), on notched specimens, at room temperature (20±2°C). To determine the size effect in Mode I fracture toughness, specimens geometrically similar in two dimensions with length-to-width ratio 5:2 were selected. The specimens were subjected to a quasi-static loading with a speed of 2 mm/min, which was applied exactly on the notch direction. A strong size effect in the closed-cell PUR foam is experimentally demonstrated, by considering a smooth transition between strength of materials approach (with no size effect) and asymptotic case of linear elastic fracture mechanics.

Abstract: The paper describes the post-impact thermal conduction of regular closed-cell cellular structure with gaseous fillers due to the dynamic compression. Two different but subsequent computational analyses have been carried out for this purpose. To define the behavior of the cellular structure under compressive dynamic loading, a unit volume element of the cellular structure has been analyzed with the explicit finite element code LS-DYNA by considering a strongly coupled interaction of the cellular structure base material with the gaseous pore filler. The resulting deformed cellular structure has then been imported in the finite volume code ANSYS CFX 10.0 for further weakly coupled thermal-structural analyses of post-impact heat conduction through the base material and filler gas. The increased temperature and pressure of the filler gas after compressive impact loading from the initial analyses have been used as initial conditions for the thermal analyses, where only the heat conduction due to the gas compression has been taken into account. This paper considers only the closed-cell cellular structure with two different relative densities and air inside the pores. Computational simulations have shown a low overall temperature increase of the cellular structure due to filler gas compression. The temperature increase of the base material is expected to be higher at lower relative densities. The presented procedure illustrates a convenient approach to solving strongly coupled fluid-structure interaction problems by considering also a weakly coupled thermal-structural solution, which can be used for a wide range of engineering applications.

Abstract: The study describes the behavior of regular closed-cell cellular structure with gaseous fillers under impact conditions and consequent post-impact thermal conduction due to the compression of filler gas. Two dependent but different analyses types have been carried out for this purpose: (i) a strongly coupled fluid-structure interaction and (ii) a weakly coupled thermalstructural analysis. This paper describes the structural analyses of the closed-cell cellular structure under impact loading. The explicit code LS-DYNA was used to computationally determine the behavior of cellular structure under compressive dynamic loading, where one unit volume element of the cellular structure has been discretised with finite elements considering a simultaneous strongly coupled interaction with the gaseous pore filler. Closed-cell cellular structures with different relative densities and initial pore pressures have been considered. Computational simulations have shown that the gaseous filler influences the mechanical behavior of cellular structure regarding the loading type, relative density and type of the base material. It was determined that the filler’s temperature significantly increases due to the compressive impact loading, which might influence the macroscopic behavior of the cellular structure.