A PROJECT REPORT

on
MATERIAL PROPERTIES,MATHEMATICAL MODELLING AND
FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS(FEA) OF VISCO-ELASTIC
MATERIALS

Submitted in partial fulfillment for the award of the degree of

BACHELOR OF TECHNOLOGY
in
Mechanical Engineering
Submitted by

M.CHANDRA SEKHAR 18121A0385

M.SAI SUMANTH 18121A0381
M.POOJESH REDDY 18121A0388
N.DAYAKAR 18121A0396

Under the Guidance of

Mr.D.Madhusudan Reddy
Assistant Professor
Department of Mechanical Engineering

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

SREE VIDYANIKETHAN ENGINEERING COLLEGE

(Affiliated to J. N. T. University Anantapur, Anantapuramu)
Sree Sainath Nagar, A.Rangampet, Tiruapti-517102, Andhra Pradesh
2018-2022

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 SREE VIDYANIKETHAN ENGINEERING
COLLEGE Autonomous ( )

A.Rangampet, Tirupati-517102
DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that the project titled “MATERIAL PROPERTIES,MATHEMATICAL
MODELLING AND FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS OF VISCO ELASTIC
MATERIALS” submitted by the following students in the Department of Mechanical
Engineering, Sree Vidyanikethan Engineering College (Autonomous), A.Rangampet, Tirupati
and is submitted in partial fulfillment for the award of B.Tech. in Mechanical Engineering to
the Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University Anantapur, Anantapuramu is a record of
bonafide work carried out by them under our guidance and supervision.
The results embodied in this thesis have not been submitted to any other University or
Institute for the award of any degree or diploma.

M.CHANDRA SEKHAR 18121A0385

M.SAI SUMANTH 18121A0381
M.POOJESH REDDY 18121A0388
N.DAYAKAR 18121A0396

GUIDE HEAD OF THE DEPARTMENT

INTERNAL EXAMINER EXTERNAL EXAMINER

2
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We express our deep sense of gratitude, appreciation and indebtedness to our guide
Mr. D. Madhusudan Reddy for his valuable guidance. His sincere interest, support and
constant encouragement during the project work have helped us in completing the thesis.
We wish to express our deepest gratitude and thanks to Dr. SATYA MEHAR
Professor & Head, Department of Mechanical Engineering, SVEC.
We express our profound gratitude to the principal and Management of SVEC for
permitting us to do our project work.
Last but not least, thanks to our parents for their numerous supports in many different
ways throughout the study.
We also thank all who have helped directly or indirectly in completing the project
work.

Students Name with Signatures

M.CHANDRA SEKHAR
M.SAI SUMANTH
M.POOJESH REDDY
N.DAYAKAR

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SREE VIDYANIKETHAN ENGINEERING COLLEGE

VISION

To be one of the Nation’s premier Engineering Colleges by achieving the highest order of

excellence in Teaching and Research.

MISSION

 To foster intellectual curiosity, pursuit and dissemination of knowledge.

 To explore students’ potential through academic freedom and integrity.

 To promote technical mastery and nurture skilled professionals to face competition in

ever increasing complex world.

4
 DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

VISION

To become and be recognized as a nationwide center of excellence in Mechanical

Engineering and allied areas for acquiring self-reliance through education, engagement

and research.

MISSION

 Department of Mechanical Engineering is established to provide students with a

sound Mechanical Engineering education, advance the understanding and application

of Mechanical Engineering principles to work in multicultural and multidisciplinary

environment.

 Engage and impart knowledge to the students for innovative, high-impact and leading

edge research and development of modern Mechanical Engineering science through

contemporary curriculum.

 Maintain a collegial, supportive, and diverse environment that encourages students,

faculty, and staff to achieve to the best of their abilities.

 Serve our students by teaching them problem solving, leadership and teamwork skills,

and the value of a commitment, quality and ethical behavior for their employability.

 Serve the community and industry through proactive knowledge exchange.

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 PROGRAM EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES

Within few years of graduation, B. Tech. (ME) Program, graduates would have:

1. Higher education in mechanical engineering, business administration, or other

disciplines.

2. Career in mechanical engineering and allied industry, software industry, or

managerial positions, and ability to start entrepreneurial ventures related to

Mechanical Engineering.

3. Ability to recognize the importance of, and engage in life-long learning through self-

study for solving problems related to Mechanical Engineering.

PROGRAM OUTCOMES

On successful completion of the Program, the graduates of B. Tech. (ME) Program will be

able to:

1. Apply the knowledge of mathematics, science, engineering fundamentals, and an

engineering specialization to the solution of complex engineering problems.

(Engineering knowledge)

2. Identify, formulate, review research literature, and analyze complex engineering

problems reaching substantiated conclusions using first principles of mathematics,

natural sciences, and engineering sciences. (Problem analysis)

3. Design solutions for complex engineering problems and design system components or

processes that meet the specified needs with appropriate consideration for the public

health and safety, and the cultural, societal, and environmental considerations.

(Design/development of solutions)

6
4. Use research-based knowledge and research methods including design of

experiments, analysis and interpretation of data, and synthesis of the (Conduct

investigations of complex problems) information to provide valid conclusions.

5. Create, select, and apply appropriate techniques, resources, and modern engineering

and IT tools including prediction and modeling to complex engineering activities with

an understanding of the limitations. (Modern tool usage)

6. Apply reasoning informed by the contextual knowledge to assess societal, health,

safety, legal and cultural issues and the consequent responsibilities relevant to the

professional engineering practice. (The engineer and society)

7. Understand the impact of the professional engineering solutions in societal and

environmental contexts, and demonstrate the knowledge of, and need for sustainable

development. (Environment and sustainability)

8. Apply ethical principles and commit to professional ethics and responsibilities and

norms of the engineering practice. (Ethics)

9. Function effectively as an individual, and as a member or leader in diverse teams, and

in multidisciplinary settings. (Individual and team work)

10. Communicate effectively on complex engineering activities with the engineering

community and with society at large, such as, being able to comprehend and write

effective reports and design documentation, make effective presentations, and give

and receive clear instructions. (Communication)

11. Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the engineering and management

principles and apply these to one's own work, as a member and leader in a team, to

manage projects and in multidisciplinary environments. (Project management and

finance)

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12. Recognize the need for, and have the preparation and ability to engage in independent

and life-long learning in the broadest context of technological change. (Life-long

learning)

8
 PROGRAM SPECIFIC OUTCOMES

On successful completion of B. Tech. (ME) Program, graduates will be able to:

1. Apply principles and concepts pertaining to Fundamental sciences, Humanities and

Mechanical Engineering in solving problems of practical interest in sub domains of

Manufacturing, Thermal, Design and Management Sciences.

2. Analyze problems of practical importance in research and industry by integrating

engineering sciences.

3. Design mechanical components, systems or processes to meet desired functionality

with realistic constraints.

4. Conduct investigations on complex engineering problems to obtain plausible solutions

in the sub domains.

5. Apply appropriate analytical, experimental and computational tools and resources by

integrating multifaceted requirements from various sub domains.

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 IV B. Tech – II Semester
(16BT80331) PROJECT WORK

Int. Marks Ext. Marks Total Marks LTPC

100 100 200 - - -12

PRE-REQUISITES: All the courses of the program.

COURSE DESCRIPTION: Identification of topic for the project work; Literature survey;
Collection of preliminary data; Identification of implementation tools and methodologies;
Performing critical study and analysis of the topic identified; Time and cost analysis;
Implementation of the project work; Preparation of thesis and presentation.

COURSE OUTCOMES: Completion of the project work enables a successful student to

demonstrate:
CO1. Knowledge on the project topic.
CO2. Analytical ability exercised in the project work.
CO3. Design skills applied on the project topic.
CO4. Ability to investigate and solve complex engineering problems faced during the
project work.
CO5. Ability to apply tools and techniques to complex engineering activities with an
understanding of limitations in the project work.
CO6. Ability to provide solutions as per societal needs with consideration to health,
safety, legal and cultural issues considered in the project work.
CO7. Understanding of the impact of the professional engineering solutions in
environmental context and need for sustainable development experienced during
the project work.
CO8. Ability to apply ethics and norms of the engineering practice as applied in the
project work.
CO9. Ability to function effectively as an individual as experienced during the project
work.
CO10. Ability to present views cogently and precisely on the project work.
CO11. Project management skills as applied in the project work.
CO12. Ability to engage in life-long leaning as experience during the project work.

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 ABSTRACT

The objective of the project is to enhance the productivity of the solar still through increasing
the productivity of fresh water. A double passes solar air collector–coupled modified solar
still, have been experimentally investigated to enhance the fresh water productivity. The
influence of the injected hot air on the performance of a modified still is investigated. A
comparison between a modified still, with hot air injection, and the conventional still is
carried out to evaluate the enhancement in the fresh water productivity. The experiments
were carried out under the same atmospheric conditions.

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER TITLE PAGE NO.

ABSTRACT
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1 INTRODUCTION 13 - 27
1.1 INTRODUCTION
1.2 VISCO ELASTICITY
1.3 MAXWELL MODEL
1.4 FINITE ELEMENT METHOD
2 LITERATURE REVIEW 28 - 33
2.1 LITERATURE REVIEW
2.2 RESEARCH GAPS
3 OBJECTIVES AND PROJECT METHODOLOGY 34 - 35
3.1 OBJECTIVE OF THE PRESENT WORK
3.2 PROJECT METHODOLOGY
4 MATERIALS AND METHODS 36 - 38
4.1 STRESS RELAXATION TESTS
4.2 MATERIAL MODELING
4.3 MODEL GEOMETRY FOR FEA
4.4 MATERIAL PROPERTIES
4.5 BOUNDARY CONDITIONS
4.6 FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS
5 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 39 - 47
5.1 STRESS RELAXATION TESTS
5.2 MATERIAL MODELING THE FOAMS
5.3 MODELING THE FOAMS
5.4 PRE-PROCESSING STAGE
5.5 SOLVE
5.6 POSTPROCESSING
6 CONCLUSIONS 48
REFERENCES 49 - 53

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 CHAPTER – I
INTRODUCTION

1.1.INTRODUCTION

Flexible polyurethane foams are commonly used materials in automotive applications,

especially for internal cockpit parts and seats. During accidental impact passenger’s head has
to be stopped by the headrest. The primary function of a headrest is to support and cushion
the head, protecting an occupant from injury in a front and a rear-end collision. Polyurethane
foams have important usage in several industrial applications in energy absorptions and
comfort bedding applications. Foam can be used also in cushions of car seats, pillows,
beddings, packaging, acoustic absorption and upholstery. Comfort, vibration isolation and
crashworthiness structures are one of the primary means used in most modern automobile
seats, furniture and bedding.

Foams usually are nonlinear visco-elastic materials and are interesting structures that
possess unique mechanical and thermal properties in nature which attracted engineers,
scientists and researchers to examine it. Recent studies showed that there is strong evidence
that some of the mechanical properties such as stiffness and Visco-elastic characteristics of
cellular materials have similar mechanical response and thermal behaviour as those in tissues
and muscles in human body. This attracted many researchers, medical doctors and scientists
to investigate and learn about these materials as well. The static and dynamic behavior of
these cellular materials is also sensitive to compression levels, strain rates, temperature,
amplitude and frequency of excitation.

Innovative concepts in the design of lightweight automotive structures are

increasingly sought to meet ever increasing fuel costs and stringent environmental
regulations. The use of lightweight aluminium and magnesium alloys is gradually increasing
in vehicle space frames with proven significant weight savings.

However, the concern for the crashworthiness of lighter vehicles must be concurrently
addressed. Progressive folding collapse of thin-walled structures is an effective energy
absorbing mechanism in crashworthiness applications by minimising the peak impact force
and increasing the collapse distance in the plastically deformed folds. Furthermore, the
energy absorption capacity of thin-walled sections can be further improved by filling them
with foams.

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 In particular, metallic foams are good candidates for crashworthiness applications,
because (i) they enjoy excellent specific mechanical properties with respect to the foam
density, and (ii) they can undergo large plastic deformation at an approximately constant
stress. However, the foam–column interaction componentrelies on the relative stiffness of the
interface and the penetration resistance of the foam layer adjacent to the outer column.
Therefore, while increasing the foam density would ensure increasing the total energy
absorption (TEA), it is not always the case for the specific energy absorption per unit mass
(SEA) consequently, to further enhance the crashworthiness of foam-filled thin-walled
sections, other alternatives should be considered.

Recently, attention has been devoted to a new concept known as functionally graded
foam (FGF). In FGF, the foam density is continuously varied in a predefined manner in order
to improve the energy absorption characteristics beyond those offered by uniform density
foam (UDF). A discrete form of FGF hereafter referred to as DFGF, will be constructed from
existing foam layers with different densities in the axial or lateral directions.

(i). Evaluate the effect of using DFGF upon the crush behaviour of foam-filled
columns, and

(ii). Evaluate the effect of density grading, number of grading layers NG, and
thickness and density of the interactive layer upon the resulting SEA.

14
Figure 1: Flexible polyurethane foams

15
 In most energy absorbing applications, foam is loaded only once, and many studies in
literature are focused on single loading of foam. Experimental and Numerical studies on
multiple loading and unloading are very limited. On the other hand, packaged objects such as
home appliances can be exposed to multiple impact loadings being in terms of vertical drops
during transportation.

There are many studies in literature that present constitutive models and methods for
calculating stress–strain and absorbed energy under compressive loading. Liu et al. developed
a constitutive model with five parameters that are functions of foam density for compressive
loading. In the case of multiple loading, their model is valid only for the plastic region and is
not valid for elastic region of the reloading and unloading. Avalle et al. reviewed existing
constitutive models for single compressive loading of various foams and validated them by
using experimental measurements. They proposed an improved model for single loading only
with parameters depending on the foam density. Ozturk and Anlas presented how force and
deformation change in multiple compressive loading and unloading of polymeric foams, and
proposed a phenomenological constitutive model and a method to calculate reaction force,
deformation, and absorbed energy for multiple loading and unloading.

The conventional method of designing foam packaging for energy absorption is based
on uniform compressive loading, and cushioning diagrams are used for prediction of
maximum deceleration during impact. Cushioning diagrams are obtained by plotting impact
factor G (ratio of maximum deceleration during cushioning to gravity) versus static stress
(mass of falling object over supporting foam area) for different foam densities, drop heights,
cushion thicknesses, and material densities.

The procedures to prepare cushioning diagrams are described in ASTM D 1596–97

and DIN 55471 standards. Measurements for a specific foam density for different foam
thicknesses and drop heights require many experimental resources; therefore, researchers
have tried to decrease experimental work using analytical models. Ramon and Miltz
presented a method to predict cushioning curves for semi flexible polyurethane (PU), closed-
cell expanded polystyrene (EPS), and cross linked polyethylene (PE) using constant-strain
rate measurements and analytical evaluations. They showed that cushioning curves could be
successfully obtained using a stress–strain curve and their dynamic model for rate
independent foams like EPS. Sek et al. proposed a method to determine cushioning curves

16
using data of a single impact test. They studied expanded PU and EPS, and obtained
cushioning curves with improved accuracy and reduced testing time. Burgess used a single
cushioning curve of expanded PE foam for an arbitrary drop height and foam thickness, and
generated all other cushioning curves regardless of drop height, cushion thickness, or static
loading.

The studies cited above are all for single loading; therefore, their methods are not
suitable for packaging applications where multiple loading effects should be considered.
Although cushioning curves are also prepared for multiple impacts, they are limited in
number and generally not published. Totten studied the effect of multiple impacts on
cushioning properties of expanded polypropylene, moldable polyethylene copolymer, and
expanded polyethylene foams. He presented cushioning diagrams for single impact, five
impacts, and 15 impacts for three different drop heights and four different static stresses. For
EPS with 20 kg/m3, 25 kg/m3, and 30 kg/m3 densities, cushioning diagrams for first impact
are available in DIN 55471 and in the packaging design guidelines of BASF.

For EPS with 1.25 pcf (=20.02 kg/m3) density, Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO)
provided cushioning curves for first impact and average of 2–5 impacts. A major drawback of
cushioning diagrams for accurate predictions of maximum deceleration is that they are based
on the uniform compressive loading assumption. For the case where packaged object does not
have a flat supporting face and where the cushion thickness and drop height do not match
specific information given in cushioning diagram, this methodology cannot be used
effectively. Consider a spherical object indenting a piece of foam as shown in Figure.1. The
reaction force is high in the middle and vanishes toward the ends of the foam. It is not
possible to predict maximum deceleration of such an object using cushioning diagrams.

Finite element analysis (FEA) is increasingly used for the prediction of absorbed
energy, deceleration, stress, and deformation during impact loading. An important advantage
of FEA is that it allows modelling of objects which have complex shapes. There are many
FEA studies on foams in literature and new constitutive models have been implemented into
finite element codes. Most of them focused on yielding under multi-axial loading, but they
did not validate the constitutive models they used for multiple loading and unloading.

To study unloading and hysteresis under uni axial compression, Chou et al. loaded,
unloaded, and reloaded foam specimens to 30%, 60%, and 90% of their original height, and

17
measured forces and displacements. They used low density foam material model (MAT 57)
of LS-DYNA 3D to simulate compression, indentation, tension, and dynamic impact, but
they did not study unloading and reloading; they compared their results to experimental
measurements for single loading and unloading only. The residual strain after unloading was
not predicted by LS-DYNA 3D although it was measured as a considerable amount. Zhang et
al. tested polystyrene, polyurethane, and polypropylene foams under uniaxial compression,

hydrostatic compression, and pure shear.

They proposed a yield surface and implemented into LSDYNA 3D and compared
results of their model to those of hemisphere indentation test. Their numerical simulations
predicted well force and displacement in loading, but there was a large deviation for
unloading. They did not study multiple loading and unloading either. Deshpande and Fleck
studied plastic yielding and elastic buckling of PVC foam, their experiments included various
combinations of axial and radial compression, tension, and shear loading. Their results were
used to determine yield surface and to validate.

Cellular solids can be defined as materials with a volume fraction of porosity higher
than 70%. They have been known in their natural form for a very long time (trabecular bone,
wood, cork, sponges, wools...). The structure of these highly porous solids is characterized by
the presence of porous cells, hence their name, surrounded by a network of solid-phase.
These cells can be open or closed and their dimensions can span over several orders of
magnitude, from nanometres to centimetres. The specific properties of natural cellular solids
are such that they are used for a very long time in special applications where these properties
are required (lightweight beams and structural parts, insulators, filters, absorbers...). Their
microstructure has widely inspired engineers to produce highly porous engineering solids
such as wool (glass or rock wool e.g.,) and foam (metal, polymer and ceramic foams).

Over the last 20 years, interest in these materials has grown. They have numerous
interesting properties qualifying them as multifunctional materials. Thanks to their low
relative density and good mechanical properties, they can be used as lightweight sandwich
cores. Their high fracture strain, together with their damaging behaviour when compressed,
induces a large energy absorption capacity for packaging applications and shock absorbers.
Their low thermal and acoustic conductivity is interesting for heat and sound insulation. The
tailored high volume fraction of open porosity favours their use as filters and bone
substitutes.

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 The visco-elasticity option in dynamic FEA is used to revisit the modelling of impacts
on foam products, which assumed a hyper-elastic foam material. This, while explaining
several features of the foam response, failed to simulate any loss processes. One aim of the
research was to see whether large foam strains and a complex stress field, for a head impact
on a large foam mat, produce more complex visco-elastic effects than small uniform strains
in a compressed foam cube, in particular whether hysteresis is predicted to increase with the
impact speed. A comparison of the predicted responses of a foam cube and a mat with
experimental data should identify sound wave effects and show whether air-flow losses are
important. Mills and Lyn used an axi-symmetric finite-difference method to model the air fl
ow losses in PU chip foam, under uniform compressive strain. It is not currently possible to
implement such a model in FEA. There are only a few micromechanics models for the
viscoelasticity of open-cell PU foams.

Huang and Gibsonused a simple cubic cell model to suggest that the foam creep
compliance is a scaled version of the polymer creep compliance. Zhu and Mills considered
creep in a Kelvin foam model with uniform edge cross-sections, compressed in the direction,
and came to a similar conclusion. Recent micromechanics modelling, using a linear elastic
material, predicted a plateau in the compressive stress-strain curve of PU foam. The implicit
FEA solution method, used for solving static problems, sought convergence to an equilibrium
state at every increment of model deformation. The Kelvin foam model was used with
geometry created by Surface Evolver software. The model for compression in the direction,
which causes the cell edges to both twist and bend, was preferred to that for direction
compression, which only causes edge bending. The visco-elastic modelling here aims to
simulate the hysteresis in compressive loading/unloading cycles on PU foam.

Dynamic FEA of the impact compression of closed-cell (metal) foams, using a Kelvin
foam with a representative unit cell (RUC) two cells high, predicted that the upper impacted
cell collapsed before the lower cell, i.e. that there was inhomogeneous strain in the model.
Such strain in homogeneity is sometimes reported for PU foams. A stress plateau or a fall in
the compressive stress-strain curve makes strain in homogeneity likely. Consequently,
attempts were made to predict strain in homogeneity in an open cell foam model. It would
cause the cell strain histories to differ, hence produce a complex visco-elastic response.
Therefore this paper explores whether cell micromechanics phenomena amplify the visco-
elasticity of the solid PU, and how the visco-elasticity of PU foam products can be treated
during large deformations.

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 The second method, in Dynamic FEA, is recommended when sound wave effects are
important. It also uses a prony series of relaxation times. The density of the polyurethane
controls the speed of sound in the material, and consequently the time interval Δt between the
FEA explicit computations. The explicit method makes a single estimate of the stress state at
the next time interval. Δt must be smaller than the time for a sound wave to cross the smallest
element. In the simulation of impact tests on large foam blocks, the overall simulation time is
the order of 20 ms, and the Δt values for the relative large elements are reasonable. The sound
waves in these simulations are relevant to interpreting foam impact tests. In standard FEA,
the displacement of the top of the foam is linearly ramped during a step to create a series of
foam strains, hence the strain rate is constant during loading or unloading. In dynamic FEA, a
rigid mass can be used to impact the top surface of the foam.

The mass is sufficient to cause a high compressive strain in the foam, while its initial
velocity determines the initial strain rate for loading. As the mass decelerates to zero then
rebounds, the foam is subjected to a compressive loading and unloading cycle, and the strain
rate varies with time, in contrast with the standard FEA simulation.

With the rapid development of modern industrialization, rubbers are one of the most
remarkable materials having a wide range of applications in civil engineering, aerospace
engineering, mechanical engineering, automotive engineering, etc. In order to meet various
requirements of the industry, special fillers, like carbon black or silica, with different
proportions are usually added during vulcanization for improving the strength and toughness
properties, which in turn makes it difficult to accurately characterize the mechanical
properties of rubbers.

Rubbers usually present a number of interesting features like hyper-elasticity and

hyper-viscoelasticity, many studies and experiments have been performed to investigate these
features. For the former one, the stress-strain relationship of the hyper-elasticity can be
illuminated by a strain energy function W, and some mathematical models have been
developed for the function, among which the strain-invariant-based models mainly include
the Mooney-Rivlin model, the Yeoh model, and the Gent model, the principal-stretch-based
models mainly include the Ogden model. All the models have been verified by experiment
results, for example Treloar’s experiment, and the Ogden model breaks through the limitation
of the strain energy function being the even power of the stretches, which is capable of more
accurately fitting the experimental data when rubbers undergo extremely large deformations.
Comparisons of the performances of 20 hype-elastic models are presented in the article from

20
Marckmann and Verron. More detailed reviews on the hyper-elasticity of rubber can be
accessed in several literatures. The identification of the parameters in theses hyper-elastic
models has also gained much attention. For example, Twizell and Ogden employed the
Levenberg-Marquardt optimization algorithm to determine the material constants in Ogden
models, Saleeb et al. developed a professional scheme named COMPARE to get the
parameters by using uniaxial tension, biaxial tension, and planar tension data.

The constitutive relations for the visco-elasticity can be characterized by combining

the elastic components with viscous components. In the past decades, numerous studies
focused on investigating the visco-elasticity properties of rubber-like materials and many
models explaining such behaviors were proposed. In the range of small strain, the basis of
linear visco-elasticity theory was presented by Coleman et al. A relaxation-modulus
constitutive function for the incompressible isotropic materials based on the results of
uniaxial and equal biaxial stress relaxation tests was developed by McGuirt.

The phenomenological theory of linear visco-elasticity was proved powerful for

modelling the static and dynamic responses of rubber when subjected to small strain. For the
finite deformation of visco-elastic materials, two important hypotheses were assumed. One is
a split of the free energy of visco-elastic solid into equilibrium and a non-equilibrium part,
and the other one is a multiplicative decomposition of the deformation gradient tensor into
elastic and Inelastic parts. In such a framework, Huber and Tsakmak is generalized the
application range of theso-called three-parameter solids to the finite deformation. Haupt et
al.proposed a fairlysimple identification method for the constants in a finite visco-elasticity
model. Yoshida et al .presented a constitutive model comprised by an elasto-plastic body
with a strain-dependent isotropic hardening law and a hyper-elastic body with a damage
model.

Amin et al. proposed an improved hyper-elastic constitutive equation for rubbers in

compression and shear regimes, the parameters in the equation were identified by experiment
data and a nonlinear viscous coefficient was introduced to represent the rate-dependent
properties. In recent years, a novel testing technique, named nano identation, to identify the
material parameters for thin polymer layers was developed,a comprehensive review and the
realization of the method for hyper-elastic and visco-elastic models are presented by Chen et
al.

21
 The Mechanics of Rubber-like Solids has a long and prolific history. Following
World War II, a huge research effort was launched to find an explicit strain-energy function
able to describe accurately the experimental data obtained from the testing of natural and
synthetic rubbers. However, in spite of decades of intensive work in that area, to this day
there is still no effective model able to perform this task in a satisfying and universal way.
This state of affairs is a plain fact, which cannot to be hidden by the countless and seemingly
successful models and simulations to be found in the literature. These simulations may be
concretely descriptive but in the end, they apply only to some special phenomena. From the
point of view of physical sciences, constitutive models must be universal, not in the sense
that a single model should describe the mechanical behavior of all elastomers, but in the
sense that, for a given soft material (e.g. a given sample of natural rubber), a given model
should describe its mechanical response in a satisfactory manner for all deformations fields
and all stretch ranges physically attainable. Here, a satisfactory model is defined as a model
able to describe the experimental data first of all from a qualitative point of view and then
from a quantitative point with acceptable relative errors of prediction with respect to the data.

By scanning all the constitutive models that have been introduced in the literature, we
can identify three fundamental breakthroughs over the years. First, the Mooney-Rivlin strain
energy density (Mooney 1940): a purely phenomenological theory stemming from the early
tremendous effort devoted to rewrite the theory of Continuum Mechanics using the language
of Tensor Algebra. The Mooney-Rivlin model led to the exploration of the non-linear theory
of elasticity in deep and unexpected ways, yielded significative classes of non-homogeneous
exact solutions and provided a new perspective to the interpretation of experimental data.

The second breakthrough has been the Ogden strain-energy density function
(Ogden1984): a rational re-elaboration of the Valanis-Landel hypothesis. For the first time, it
became possible to fit accurately theoretical stress-strain curves to experimental data for a
variety of deformations and a large range of strains.

The third breakthrough is more complex to describe: it consists in the recent re-
elaboration of the ideas underpinning the classical derivation of the neo-Hookean strain-
energy based on the basic tools of statistical mechanics. Here there are two possible
approaches. One is based on micro-mechanical considerations; see for example De
Tommasiet al. (2015) for a recent exploration in this direction. The other is based on
molecular considerations; see the detailed paper by Rubinstein and Panyukov (2002) on the
elasticity of polymer networks for a survey.

22
 The design issues of components realized with rubber-like PhotoPolymers(PP)
recently introduced in Rapid Prototyping. In particular, the determination of
accurate,hyperelastic, constitutive models which describe the PP behavior is discussed in
detail. Infact, Stereolithography and Polyjet processes allow the production of highly flexible
objects byusing photosensitive resins whose mechanical properties are, in some cases, similar
to naturalrubber. These parts, being fabricated with an additive approach, eventually
represent a finalproduct instead of a mere ‘prototype’. Therefore, the term Additive
Manufacturing (AM)might be used in substitution to Rapid Prototyping (Gibson et al., 2010)
in order to underline closer link to the end-use component. From a designer’s point of view,
AM technologies offer the possibility, before unknown, to customize and singularly optimize
each product for the end user, such that focused design methods are needed.

In the case of rubber-like PP, the considered materials usually experience deviatoric
(isochoric), fully reversible deformations which can be well described by hyper-elastic
constitutive theories capable of dealing with large (finite) strains (Holzapfel, 2001).The
capability to undergo finite deformations may intrinsically solve several functional design
requirements but this requires an accurate representation of the material behavior through
proper constitutive models. Unfortunately, the only data which are available (e.g. data from
Objet Geometries Ltd., http://www.objet.com/docs/) are limited to basic material properties,
namely tensile strength, tensile modulus at few reference stretch ratios, compression set, and
hardness. Hence, the correct design and verification of AM rubber-like products become
impossible or, at least, very difficult. For example, every shape optimization through
nonlinear Finite Element Analysis (FEA) requires a constitutive material law (i.e. a relation
between stress and deformation) as a key input of the numerical model.

In the same way, the calculation of hardness and friction influence on the product
contact behavior requires a detailed description of its deformation state for given applied
loads (Shallamach,1952). If a rough estimate of any stress-strain field based on the
aforementioned data may be acceptable for the first-attempt sizing of a prototype, nonetheless
the design for direct manufacturing of end-products through AM technologies becomes
critical. In this contest, the development of virtual prototypes capable of correctly predicting
the system response in the case of non-linear large deformations is fully motivated and may
lead to successful innovations. Therefore, the knowledge of the numerical and experimental
routines used to determine the material hyper-elastic parameters becomes fundamental and
represents the foundation for any AM custom design methods.

23
1.2 . Visco-elasticity

Linear elasticity is the most direct way to represent the small strain mechanical
behavior of solid polymers. The most elementary form of the theory of elasticity is isotropic
elasticity. In this form of the theory the stress is proportional to the applied strain and
independent of the orientation of the material body. The constitutive equation for an elastic
material is often called Hooke’s law and can be written in different equivalent but alternative
forms and the constitutive theory for linear elasticity requires two material parameters that
need to be specified from experimental data. There are different, equally valid, pairs of
material parameters that can be chosen. The typical approach to calibrate a linear elasticity
model involves a uniaxial tension experiment where the stress-strain response determines the
Young’s modulus, and the Poisson’s ratio is obtained from the transverse contraction in the
tension experiment. After the two material parameters have been determined, the calibrated
linear elasticity model can be used to predict the behavior of the material in any deformation
state in a finite element(FE) analysis (as long as the material behavior is linear elastic).The
main limitation of using a linear elastic model for predicting the mechanical behavior of
polymer materials is that polymers behave linearly only for very small strains and a restricted
range of strain-rates and temperatures. When performing FE simulations it is sometimes
possible to capture the response at different temperatures by specifying the temperature
dependence of the elastic constants. The theory for linear elasticity can be extended to
include an isotropic behavior. Many polymers, e.g. fiber reinforced composites, drawn
polymer films, or other polymers with a preferred molecular orientation, including many
biopolymers, are an isotropic to various degrees. For these materials it is sometimes useful to
represent their behavior using anisotropic elasticity.

Through out the years there have been an extensive amount of work done developing
different visco-elasticity theories, and many of these models are available in commercial FE
software. One of the most important and interesting aspects of visco-elasticity is that it is the
simplest model representation that in some cases can be connected to the micro-mechanisms
that drive the deformation behavior of polymers. In the following sections we will present
some of the most common and useful theories of visco-elasticity. The continuum mechanics
foundation of the visco-elastic theories was derived. In the next section we will extend the
general expressions for the stress in terms of the Helmholtz free energy into different and
easily applied representations. This section focuses on the different theories, and the strengths

24
and limitations of the different theories to predict the behavior of different polymeric
materials.

These are important in automotive seating applications, since foam damping reduces
the amplitude of resonant vibrations, while excessive creep causes the driver’s position to
drop relative to mirrors etc. Low-resilience or ‘viscoelastic’ PU foams have been profitable
additions to the bedding foam market. The viscoelasticity of solid PU fits into the pattern of
polymer behaviour, with a loss maximum near the glass transition temperature of the
amorphous phase.

For micromechanics analysis of foams with cell sizes less than 1 mm, using fi ne
meshing of the cell geometry, the time interval Δt can be extremely small, making the
computation unacceptably slow. Elastic modelling revealed that cell size does not affect the
predicted compressive stress-strain response. As only the foam viscoelastic response is of
interest, the diameter D of the foam cells can be increased; Δt is directly proportional to D if
the mesh is kept the same. The initial velocity of a rigid striker is increased in proportion to
D, so that the strain rate in the foam is the same. However, if D > 10 m for the wet Kelvin
model, the deformation is predicted to be limited to a small region near the striker.

Then a new, yet higher stress region forms near this surface and propagates upwards
through the foam. This phenomenon is due to the inertia of the relatively dense foam, the low
sound wave velocity, and the relatively low elastic modulus of the foam. The pulses appear as
steps on the loading part of the stress strain curve. They have effectively disappeared by the
time the foam is at maximum strain. This appears to be the first prediction of such an effect in
open-cell PU foam. A initial step of 5 kPa height, with some small oscillations, was observed
in the striker stress vs. foam strain graphs derived from impacts on 100 mm thick blocks of
PU chip foam. In another simulation with a 5 kg striker and a lower impact velocity, there
were many more, smaller steps on the stress-strain curve. Hence there are advantages in using
a heavier striker, but as the magnitude of the striker acceleration is reduced, the initial impact
can be difficult to detect. A compression/extension cycle was also simulated using the
viscoelastic option in Standard FEA, with a maximum strain of 65% reached in 20 ms,
approximately the conditions in the dynamic simulation. The 22% hysteresis in the standard
FEA prediction is less than the 35% in the dynamic FEA, due to the constancy of the strain
rate in former simulation.

1.3 . Maxwell model

25
 The maxwell model is a very general visco-elasticity model with a Helmholtz free
energy per reference volume that is expressed in terms of the applied principal stretches. The
Helmholtz free energy for the maxwell model can be written in different ways. One common
compressible representation is given in Equation. In this equation the volumetric response is
written in terms of Di parameters instead of the bulk modulus terms. This general form of the
Helmholtz free energy makes the model powerful but can also complicate the selection of an
appropriate set of material parameters that give stable predictions of general deformation
states.

Papanicolaou et al., Generally visco-elastic model can be used for rubbers, foams
and some elastomers. Visco-material model in terms of principal stretches λ1, λ2 and λ3 at
three principal directions.

FIGURE2 : E and ɳ are spring and dashpot constants at stress order

1.4 . Finite element method

Finite element method (FEM) is a widely used method for numerically

solving differential equations arising in engineering and mathematical modeling. Typical
problem areas of interest include the traditional fields of structural analysis, heat
transfer, fluid flow, mass transport, and electromagnetic potential. The FEM is a
general numerical method for solving partial differential equations in two or three space
variables (i.e., some boundary value problems). To solve a problem, the FEM subdivides a
large system into smaller, simpler parts that are called finite elements. This is achieved by a
particular space discretization in the space dimensions, which is implemented by the
construction of a mesh of the object: the numerical domain for the solution, which has a finite
number of points. The finite element method formulation of a boundary value problem finally

26
results in a system of algebraic equations. The method approximates the unknown function
over the domain. The simple equations that model these finite elements are then assembled
into a larger system of equations that models the entire problem. The FEM then
uses variational methods from the calculus of variations to approximate a solution by
minimizing an associated error function. Studying or analyzing a phenomenon with FEM is
often referred to as finite element analysis (FEA).

The finite element method (FEM) is one of the numerical methods for solving differential
equations that describe many engineering problems. The FEM originated from the structural

mechanics discipline and has since been extended to other areas of solid mechanics as well
as heat transfer, fluid dynamics, and electromagnetism. In fact, FEM has been recognized as a
powerful tool for solving partial differential equations and integrodifferential equations, and
in the near future, it may become the numerical method of choice in many engineering and
applied science areas. One of the many reasons for the popularity of the FEM is that a
minimal amount of training is required to solve many practical problems with the aid of
versatile computer programs. The availability of undergraduate- and advanced graduate-level
FEM courses in engineering schools has increased in response to the growing popularity of
the FEM in industry. In the case of linear structural systems, the methods of modeling and
solution procedure are well established.

Nonlinear systems, however, take different modeling and solution procedures based on the
characteristics of the problems. Accordingly, the modeling and solution procedures are much
more complicated than that of linear systems, although there are advanced topics in linear
systems such as complex shell formulations. Researchers who have studied and applied the
linear FEM cannot apply the linearized method to more complicated nonlinear problems such
as elasto-plastic or contact problems. However, many textbooks in the nonlinear FEMs
strongly emphasize complicated theoretical parts or advanced topics. These advanced
textbooks are mainly helpful to researchers seeking to develop additional nonlinear FEMs.
However, the advanced textbooks are oftentimes too difficult for students and researchers
who are learning the nonlinear FEM for the first time.

27
 CHAPTER-II
LITERATURE REVIEW
The exploration of new material with better quality is always a concern for a material
research scientist all over the globe. The material world is marching towards the trend of
improving the strength of the material. In this direction, the current chapter highlights some
research papers on the effect of the choice of the materials of the foam. Literature survey
begins with a paper published.
2.1 LITERATURE REVIEW

The PFM model for solid foam materials for an individual layers was presented by
Goga et al., such materials when they exposed to compression loading, they can be
mechanically modeled using the PFM model. This model describes the uniaxial compression
behavior of foam materials but it is restricted for constant strain rates.

Another recent decent work was done by Jeong et al., which he proposed a new
constitutive model that highlights the strain rates dependency. Jeong model was derived by
Nagy et al. These dashpots and springs are designed to build up the three distinct regions of
polyurethane compression model. Such models have significant characteristics for
viscoelastic materials and biomechanical applications such as those in canellous bone models
which were introduced. Mechanical properties of cellular materials are heavily depended on
foam density and other parameters such as investigated.

Several models were also developed to describe the compressive deformation and
mechanical properties for polyurethanes cellular materials such as those. As such, they have
the major drawback of being dependent upon the particular foam structure used for their
development.

Another approach has been recently proposed by Ciambella andSaccomandi

allowing the auxetic foam to be modelled as a continuum solid. The overall stress-strain
response and the dependence of the Poisson’s ratio over the tensile deformation were

accurately described by using a Blatz-Ko type strain energy function, complemented with a
non-monotonic Poisson’s function (PF).

The advantages of this approach over the usual microstructure-based models are
three-folds: on one hand, the same model can be applied for different foam structures, the
constitutive parameters can be also easily identified by fitting the experimental curves, and

28
finally the method is suitable to be implemented in a finite element code, thus allowing more
complex deformation patterns to be simulated.

Production of density-graded aluminium foams has been achieved using either

preformed powder compacts or precursors. Brothers and Dunand used investment casting
techniques to produce density-graded aluminium foam from polyurethane foam precursors.
They examined the mechanical properties of uniform and graded aluminium alloy 6061
foams. The uniform density foam exhibited an extended, nearly constant plateau compressive
response followed by densification at high strain (0.75–0.8). In contrast, density-graded
foams exhibited a smoothly rising plateau stress with an early densification (0.35– 0.4).

Mortensen et al. fabricated density-graded sandwich aluminium foam structures

encased in thin aluminium skins. They produced specimens containing up to five layers of
porous aluminium foam. Cui et al. presented polymeric FGF in which the size of micro-scale
cells is varied continuously in a specific pattern. They showed superior SEA of polymeric
FGF compared to their UDF counterparts.

Wierzbicki and Abramowicz developed a closed-form solution for the mean axial
crushing load of a square thin-walled column based for a symmetric collapse using energy
methods. Abramowicz and Jones conducted an extensive experimental study on the collapse
of thin-walled circular and square columns with various lengths and cross section
dimensions. They identified and modelled basic collapse elements during progressive
collapse mechanism; namely symmetric and anti-symmetric folding mechanisms. Langseth
and his collaborators performed numerical and experimental investigations on the quasi-static
and dynamic axial collapse of thin-walled aluminium columns.

In particular, they identified a marginal effect of the mass ratio between the projectile
and the column upon the resulting mode of collapse. Meguid et al. conducted extensive
experimental and numerical simulations to investigate the quasi-static axial crush of both

PVC and aluminium foam-filled aluminium circular columns. It was found that the relative
axial stiffness of the foam and the outer column has a major role in dictating the collapse
behaviour and interaction energy component.

They further identified optimal geometrical configurations to maximise the SEA

without changing the mode of collapse. Chen and Wierzbicki developed theoretical solution
of the axial crushing of hollow and foam-filled multi-cell columns and found that the

29
interaction effect between the foam core and the column wall could markedly increase the
total crushing resistance of the structure.

Gilchrist and Mills used ABAQUS to model impact of low density polystyrene foam,
PS35, and compared results of ABAQUS simulations to those of experiments under
compressive, tensile, and simple shear loading. They showed that yielding occurs without
hardening in tensile and shear loading. They suggested that ABAQUS model should be
improved for unloading and hardening in tension and shear.

Masso-Moreu and Mills used ABAQUS to study compressive behaviour of 2D and

3D foam pyramids. Their results were satisfactory to predict loading behaviour. Mills and
Masso-Moreu did finite element analysis of drop test of a package made of polyethylene
foam and corrugated fibre board box using ABAQUS. They compared simulation results with
experimental ones for multiple impact loadings. They did not provide results for unloading
and there was no residual deformation in the package.

Flores-Johnson et al. presented experimental measurements and ABAQUS results

for compression of closed cell rigid polymethacrylimide and PVC foams under multiple
compressive loading and proposed an analytical model to predict the degradation in elastic
modulus. Crushable material foam model of ABAQUS Explicit Version 6.7.1 and low
density foam material model of LS-DYNA Version 970, MAT 57, for multiple compressive
loading and unloading. First, compression test results are given. Then finite element results
obtained from ABAQUS and LS-DYNA are compared to test results. For single and multiple
impacts, maximum decelerations predicted by FEA are compared to cushioning diagrams.

Computational models of the foot and footwear are promising alternatives to

experimentation when designing insoles for plantar pressure relief (Lemmon et al., 1997;
Chen et al., 2003; Erdemir et al., 2005) since the design space can be systematically searched
to optimize the product. Using a whole-foot three-dimensional (3D) model, Chen et al. (2003)
reported pressure-relieving effects of total contact (conforming) insoles at the heel. In an
axisymmetric finite element model of the heel, Verdejo and Mills (2004) evaluated running-
shoe midsoles and estimated a 65% decrease in vertical compressive stresses of the heel
compared with barefoot loading.

It is widely believed that conformity, or cupping the heel, is effective in reducing both
heel plantar pressure and heel pain, and such products have proven to be effective for patients
suffering from plantar fasciitis (Pfeffer et al., 1999). None of these studies investigated insole

30
design variables such as conformity, material, and thickness that potentially influence
pressure distribution underneath the heel. In addition, midsoles or insoles were modelled as
isolated components, ignoring other features of footwear such as sidewalls that might confine
the heel and alter pressure distribution.

The equilibrium stress–strain behaviour of elastomeric materials is observed to

undergo a softening with strain history. This phenomenon is referred to as stress-softening,
stretch-induced softening, and/or cyclic softening. It is observed in conventional rubbery
materials (Mullins and Tobin, 1957, 1965; Harwood et al., 1965; Harwood and Payne,
1966a,b; Mullins, 1969; Bueche, 1961) as well as in thermoplastic elastomers such as
thermoplastic polyurethanes (Yokoyama, 1978; Bonart and Muller-Riederer, 1981; Qi and
Boyce, 2004) and thermoplastic vulcanizates (Boyce et al., 2001a,b). In rubbery materials,
the softening of the equilibrium stress–strain curve is referred to as the “Mullins’ effect”, so
named due to the comprehensive study of this behaviour by Mullins on unfilled and filled
rubbers during the 1950s and the 1960s (Mullins and Tobin, 1957, 1965; Harwood et al.,
1965; Harwood and Payne, 1966a,b; Mullins, 1969).

Although Mullins identified softening to occur in both unfilled and filled

elastomers,its effect is far more pronounced in filled elastomers and therefore is frequently
identified to be a filled elastomer phenomenon.

At present, most softening theories are based on two concepts. The first theory
originates from Blanchard and Parkinson (1952) and Bueche (1960, 1961), who considered
the increase in stiffness produced by stifffiller particles to be a result of rubber-filler
attachments providing additional restrictions on the crosslinked rubber network. They
attributed softening to result from the breakdown or loosening of some of these attachments.
Bueche (1960, 1961), Dannenberg (1974), and Rigbi (1980) generalized the softening to be a
result of strain-induced relative motion of carbon and rubber, and in some cases local
separation of carbon black particles and rubber. Simo (1987), Govindjee and Simo (1991,
1992), and Miehe and Keck (2000), and Lion (1996, 1997) extended the Bueche concept and
developed damage-based constitutive models to simulate the material behaviour within the
framework of large strain continuum mechanics.

The second theory posed to explain the softening phenomenon is due to Mullinsand
co-workers (Mullins and Tobin, 1957, 1965; Harwood et al., 1965; Harwood and Payne,
1966a,b; Mullins, 1969). They consider softening to be an evolution in softand hard domains

31
within the elastomer whereby stretch produces a quasi-irreversible rearrangement of
molecular networks due to localized non affine deformation resulting from short chains
reaching the limit of their extensibility. This non affine deformation produces a displacement
of the network junctions from their initial state, which thus produces some form of
rearrangement of hard and soft domains in the elastomeric phase with strain, acting to
increase the effective volume fraction of soft domain. The concept of a phase transition with
strain has been used by Wineman and co-workers (Rajagopal and Wineman, 1992; Wineman
and Huntley, 1994) to capture the destruction and rebuilding of the underlying molecular
network upon reaching critical strain values.

The concept of hard/soft domain reorganization with strain has been used as
motivation in the models of Beatty and co-workers (Johnson and Beatty, 1993a,b; Beatty and
Krishnaswamy, 2000) who consider molecular chains to be pulled out from clusters and
transformed into soft regions, and of Marckmann et al. (2002) who propose a network
alteration whereby molecular chain density decreases and the average number of monomer
segments in a molecular chain increases, and of Ogden and co-workers (Ogden and
Roxburgh, 1999a,b; Dorfmannand Ogden, 2003; Horgan et al., 2004) who combine the
concept of hard/soft domain reorganization with the damage approach.

In the Mullins approach, filled rubbers were treated as a composite system and the
concept of amplified strain was used to explain the enhanced softening phenomenon observed
in filled rubbers. In filled elastomers, the average strain (or alternatively, stretch) in the
elastomeric domains is necessarily amplified over that of the macroscopic strain since the
stiff filler particles accommodate little of the macroscopic strain. For uniaxial tension
loading, the amplified elastomer stretch is taken to be ˄ = 1 + X (1 − ‫)ג‬, where X is an
amplification factor dependent on particle volume fraction and distribution and ‫ ג‬is the
macroscopic axial stretch. These researchers (Harwood et al., 1965) proposed that cyclic
softening was a property of the unfilled vulcanisate and was magnified through the amplified
strain for filled rubbers, thus producing an apparently greater degree of softening at any given
macroscopic strain when compared to the corresponding unfilled elastomer.

Based on the concept of amplified strain, Mullins and Tobin (1957) in their very early
work suggested that the softening in rubber vulcanizates was due to the decrease of volume
fraction of effective hard domain, vf, as a result of conversion of hard domain to soft domain.
Recently, micro-mechanics studies on filled elastomers and filled polymers conducted by
Boyce and co-workers (Bergstrom and Boyce, 1999, 2000; Boyce et al., 2001a,b) have

32
provided some additional insights into possible hard/soft transition mechanisms.
Micromechanical modelling of rigid particle filled elastomers by Bergstrom and Boyce
(1999) reveals the entrapment of rubber domains within aggregates of stiff particles, thus
resulting in the effective volume fraction of stiff particles to be larger than the physical
fraction, i.e., the “occluded volume” effect postulated by earlier workers (Medalia and Kraus,
1994). Evolution in particle distribution with deformation could release occluded volumes of
rubber and thus soften the material. Regions of stiffer vs. more compliant elastomer domains
in unfilled elastomers could be thought to evolve in a similar manner.

In a study of cyclic softening in thermoplastic vulcanizates (TPVs), where the

vulcanizates are the filler particles, Boyce et al. (2001a,b) showed that the softening is due to
the gradual evolution in particle/matrix configuration due to straining during previous loading
cycles. The plastic deformation of the contiguous thermoplastic phase acted to “release”
vulcanizate particles creating a pseudo-continuous vulcanizate phase and thus a softer
response during subsequent cycles. Although the material in the TPV study is a system of soft
fillers/hard matrix, these micromechanical simulations demonstrate how an evolution in
soft/hard microstructures can result in softening of the macroscopic mechanical response.

2.2 RESEARCH GAPS

From the literature survey, it can be observed that

 Generally Maxwell and Kelvin Voigt model can be used for rubbers, foams and some
elastomers.

 Combination of these models help to analyze the visco-elastic behavior of materials

(Hajikarimi et.al 2021, Azzawi 2019 et.al

 Very few works has beencarriedout on material modeling of flexible polyurethane foams

 Few researchers performed finite element analysis of flexible polyurethane foams with
Maxwell model.

33
 CHAPTER-III
OBJECTIVES AND PROJECT METHODOLOGY

3.1. OBJECTIVE OF THE PRESENT WORK

 To find the Visco-elastic response of the elastomers and mechanical test data was
used to fit the appropriate Visco-elastic material model (Maxwell model) in order to
predict the optimized material constants using MATLAB optimization toolbox.
 These optimum material constants were used to implement in Finite element analysis
(FEA) through ANSYS static structural software.

3.2. PROJECT METHODOLOGY:

Literature Survey

Stress relaxation Tests

Material modeling using maxwell model

Optimization of material constants

FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS

DOCUMENTATION

34
 Figure 3: project methodology
The quest for new material model with better quality is always a concern for a material
research scientist all over the globe. At present, the material models used for foams such as
hyper-elastic and visco-elastic material models are not reasonable and cause problems to the
fitting. The material modeling world is marching towards the trend of improving the new
material models. Hence, in this work, an effort has been made to use visco-elastic material
model for flexible polyurethane foams has been preferred as an material model after testing
flexible polyurethane foam using the experimental data fitted the material model and
implemented in FEA.

35
 CHAPTER-IV
MATERIALS AND METHODS

This chapter consists of materials and methods of mechanical tests, material modeling and
FEA.
4.1 STRESS RELAXATION TESTS:
Stress relaxation tests were performed using a static mechanical testing machine
(Tinius olsen) as shown in fig. Stress–time curves were recorded at loading under room
temperature conditions for the samples of foams. Foams were placed between two discs and
compressed with the strain rate of 1 mm min−1, initial force of 0.01 N and a standard sample
size of 50 mm x 50 mm x 25 mm. These tests were conducted for all the foams up to
approximately 75 % strains.

Figure 4 : Test set up

36
4.2 MATERIAL MODELING:

Viscoelastic material model formulation:

FIGURE 5 : E and ɳ are spring and dashpot constants at stress order

4.3 MODEL GEOMETRY FOR FEA:

The geometrical model can be generated using ANSYS SPACE CLAIM and
transformed into FEM code ANSYS (ANSYS, Inc.) for static structural analysis.
A rectangular model has been created based on flexible polyurethane foams
available. The dimensions of the model are almost same as the flexible polyurethane foams
which were tensile tested at Universal Testing Machine. Model has been created using 2
dimensional and 3 dimensional modeling techniques in CAD package available in ANSYS
18.1.

4.4 MATERIAL PROPERTIES:

The mechanical property for model is taken from the Ogden model parameters. In
this work, a uniform temperature, corresponding to the value ambient temperature i.e., 22°C
will be applied to the model.
There are many material models out of which Ogden material model was tried to fit
the flexible polyurethane foams test data and generating the material constants. The material
constants generated from Ogden model has been assigned to the geometric model. In future,
one can try various material models for flexible polyurethane foams with different additives.

4.5 BOUNDARY CONDITIONS:

37
 For simulation, the degree of freedom (DOF) of one end of the model is constrained
and uniform force of magnitude 5 N, was applied.

One side of model was fixed and other side of model was free and 50 N force is
applied at other side of the model. All degrees of freedom were arrested for this model at one
end completely.

FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS:

The simulation can be performed using ANSYS 18. Static structural analysis was
chosen to perform simulation on foam materials to study the mechanical behavior such as the
total deformation, elastic strain, shear stress and von-mises stress distribution under the given
loading conditions.

Finite element method involves geometry creation, discretization, material properties,

boundary conditions and post processing. Geometry can be created using any modeling
package or in ANSYS. Solid models were then imported into ANSYS static structural and
discretized into rectangular meshes using approximately 1300 elements and then assigning
material properties following boundary conditions and solving using FEM.

38
 CHAPTER-V
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

5.1 STRESS RELAXATION TESTS

The stress-strain behavior in tension of the flexible polyurethane foams is
shown in Figure 5.1.1. Initially there is a linear elastic region following elastic
collapse, there is almost no plateau region or elastic collapse. This change in the
mechanical behavior of the foam is due to the buckling of ribs during testing. When
the foam is stretched in the testing, the ribs will elongate. These additional
deformations due to the buckled ribs occur until approximately 30% strain. Stress
time response of flexible polyurethane foam was captured using horizon software.

Figure 6: stress-time response of visco-elastic materials

As shown in figure 5, the maximum stress observed from the stress-time

response is 0.0911 Mpa at 80 percent strain.

5.2 MATERIAL MODELING THE FOAMS

It can be seen that the additional terms in the second order models are redundant as
they do not increase the accuracy of the results predicted by the model (Table 1).

39
 Figure 7: Matlab Curve fitting for visco-elastic model

More sets of experimental data are required to validate the model predictions.
Experiments specific to a chosen application of the auxetic foam need to be designed and the
data from those experiments could be used to determine a constitutive model for the foam’s
behaviour in that application.
Table 1. Best fit parameters for the visco-elastic model for experimental data

Visco-elastic model Eo g1 Tau1

Polyurethane foams
0.0049 0.2080 84.967

5.3 MODELING THE FOAMS

The geometry of the model has been created in Ansys software by using
various 3D- geometric modeling techniques like 2D and 3D entities.

40
Figure 8: ANSYS workbench interface

41
 Figure 9: Material property in ANSYS
5.3.1 Creating a 2D Sketch
After selecting the front plane and using the sketch entities such as line, spline,
and circle from the 2D sketch icon in the Sketch toolbar, the sketch as shown in the
figure has been created.
5.3.2 Creating Extruded Boss/Base

Using the modeled 2D sketch, the 2D sketch element can be turned into a 3D solid

feature. The Extruded Boss/Base feature can be found on the Features tab in the Command
Manager interface. Here the 2D sketch entity circle has been extruded from the Sketch Plane
i.e., the plane in which the sketch was created.

42
 Figure 10 : Model geometry in ANSYS

5.4 PRE-PROCESSING STAGE

5.4.1 Importing the Solidworks part into ANSYS

 Select 'File' go to ‘Save As ' and change 'Save as Type' to 'IGES File (*.igs)'.

 Click Options in the ‘Save As’ window and change ‘Surface Representation’
to‘ANSYS’. Click 'OK' and then 'Save'.

5.4.2 Start ANSYS and import file

 Open ANSYS
 From the file menu select Import>IGES and locate the IGS file using the browse button.

5.4.3 Material properties

The Mechanical properties considered for different biomaterials are

tabulated below.

Visco-elastic model Eo g1 Tau1

Polyurethane foams
0.0049 0.2080 84.967

43
Table 2: Best fit parameters for Visco-elastic model

44
 5.4.4 Meshing

To mesh the volume into individual elements, go to

Preprocessor>Meshing>MeshTool.

For a Mechanical Model system, the Mechanical physics preference is used. The

mesh element used here is Hexagonal in nature and the size of the mesh (face mesh) is about
0.01m. The number of nodes is6735 whereas the number of elements is1372. The meshing
done for the problem has been displayed in the figure below.

Figure 11: Meshing

5.4.5 Boundary conditions

Now, the loads have to be applied for the meshed volume. For simulation, the
degree of freedom (DOF) of one end of the foam is constrained and uniformforce of 5
N.

45
 Figure 12: Force at other end

5.4.6 Analysis type

Here, Static analysis is carried out to determine the displacements, stresses,

strains, and forces in the foams under the given loading conditions. The Static
Structural analysis can be found in the Toolbox and has to be added to the project
schematic by dragging it into the pane.
The Static Structural component and all of its modules will be created.They
outline the steps that are required to complete a finite element analysis.
 The material properties can be defined using the Engineering Data module.
 To set up and solve the simulation including the meshing, loading,and boundary
condition applications, solving, and results; the Mechanical application is used which
can be opened from Model, Setup, Solution, and Results module.

5.5 SOLVE

46
 To run the FEA on the foam model select Solution>Solve>Current LS.

5.6 POSTPROCESSING
In the post-processing phase, the results are plotted for

 Total deformation

 Equivalent Stress

5.6.1 Total Deformation

To see the deformed shape, select General Postproc> Plot Results>Deformed
Shape. Click Ok.

The extreme and lowest deformation of the foam model under the given boundary
conditions was found.

Figure 13: Total Deformation of foams

47
 5.6.2Equivalent Stress

To see the Equivalent (Von-Mises) Stress of the foam, select General Postproc> Plot
Results>Equicalent Stress. Click Ok

The extreme and lowestVon-Mises Stress of the foam model under the given
boundary conditions was found to be 0 Pa and 2.9461e-5 Pa respectively.

Figure 14: Von-Mises Stress of foams

48
 CHAPTER-VI

CONCLUSIONS

 In this work, foams can be modeled as a continuum solid in the framework Visco-
elasticity.

 The proposed constitutive model is based on the Maxwell model.

 From the results it’s clear that the Maxwell model has good fitting with experimental
data.

 So, the Maxwell model could be implemented in Finite Element Analysis (FEA) codes.

 Maxwell model implemented in FEA

SCOPE FOR FUTURE WORK:

Depending on the results obtained from this research, in the future, the work can be
extended.

 To perform the FEA with other material models.

49
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