Energy absorption characteristics of polymeric foams used as cushioning materials

The “Efficiency of Energy Absorption” (or “Efficiency”) and “Ideality” parameters were evaluated for several plastic foams and were found to be very useful in choosing an appropriate cushion for the protection of a specific product. The maxima in these parameters were found to be in the same range of stresses, when derived from dynamic measurements or from predicted stress-strain curves based on previously proposed “Reference” and “Modified Boltzman Superposition” Models. For the rate independent foams the maxima in these parameters do not change with strain rate and can therefore be derived from slow, constant rate (“static”) experiments. For rate dependent foams however, the maxima from “static” measurements were found to be in a lower range of stresses than those derived from dynamic ones. As a result, slow rate compressive measurements do not predict well the behavior of the foams during impact and the use of the “Reference” and “Modified Boltzman Superposition” Models is required for good predictions. It was found that the suffer PS and PE foams attain maximum Efficiency and Ideality at higher stresses than the more flexible PUR foams.