Energy absorption characteristics of structural foams for passive safety applications

Foam materials are very interesting for safety applications in automotive and in the protection of goods by packaging. The interest in their use lies in their flexibility, low weight, low cost, easiness of working and, last but not least, worthy mechanical properties. The mechanical behavior of foams is basically a function of the properties of the solid material and of the density relative to that of the base material. In this work three types of materials are considered. The mechanical characterization was done by compression testing of cubic samples. In consideration of the importance, in safety applications, of understanding the dynamic behavior of the materials, the strain-rate sensitivity was investigated by static and dynamic testing. The results are presented comparing the behavior of the three materials at the different densities, in both static and dynamic test conditions.