The dynamic mechanical behaviour of liquid-filled foams

Abstract
Liquid-filled, flexible, open cell foams exhibit large mechanical damping when subjected to oscillatory compressions because of the flow of liquid through the foam matrix. The theory which has been proposed by Gent and Rusch in 1966 to explain this phenomenon is extended to take into account the effects of inertia. An apparatus is described which has been used to study the dynamic behaviour of liquid-filled foams. It operates in the compression tension deformation mode over a frequency range of nearly five decades (3 × 10−3-2 × 102 Hz) at temperatures between −50 and +70°C. Experimental data are presented showing how the mechanical properties of the matrix and the liquid and the sample geometry affect the dynamic behaviour of the liquid-filled foam system. In general the observed behaviour is in agreement with that predicted theoretically. Deviations from the theory are attributed to the sample configuration used.

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