Determination of elastomeric foam parameters for simulations of complex loading

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Computational Mechanics
• Biomechanics

Background:

• Finite element (FE) analysis is crucial for evaluating elastomeric foam personal protection devices.
• Accurate material representation is vital for realistic FE simulations, but current definitions vary and often neglect multi-mode loading.
• Existing material models lack comprehensive parameterization for complex loading conditions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a library of elastomeric foam material parameters for FE simulations.
• To provide parameters applicable to complex loading scenarios encountered by personal protection devices.
• To enhance the accuracy and reliability of FE analyses involving elastomeric foams.

Main Methods:

• Tested twelve footwear foam materials under uni-axial compression, simple shear, and volumetric compression.
• Determined parameters for a compressible hyperelastic material model using different combinations of test data (compression only, compression and shear, all three modes).
• Provided material parameters and Drucker stability limits with associated errors for best-fit models.

Main Results:

• Material parameters and stability limits were determined with associated errors.
• The hyperelastic model accurately predicted deformation modes included in parameter determination.
• The model showed limitations in predicting behavior outside the tested deformation modes.

Conclusions:

• FE simulation outcomes are significantly influenced by the completeness of test data used for parameterization.
• Published FE results using single-mode test data for complex loading may be questionable.
• The developed library offers parameters with errors across three deformation modes, enabling more informed material selection for FE analysis.