Constitutive modeling for characterizing the compressive behavior of PMMA open-cell foams

A constitutive model for evaluating the compressive behavior of Poly(methylmethacrylate) (PMMA) open-cell foams is herein proposed. Specifically, the study investigates the viscoelastic and viscoplastic behaviors of the PMMA open-cell foams. The constitutive equation is expressed in terms of the following polymer and foam properties: elastic modulus, relative density, as well as the relaxation and densification constants. PMMA open-cell foams are manufactured using a gas foaming/particulate leaching method and uniaxial compression tests are performed. The mechanical properties and compressive stress-strain responses obtained from the experiments are compared with those predicted by the proposed constitutive model. The results suggest that the constitutive model is an apt one for assessing and evaluating the compressive behaviors of PMMA open-cell foams. (c) 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.