Multiaxial creep of low density open-cell foams

Open-cell foams have wide applications in structural components, energy adsorption, heat transfer, sound insulation, and so on. When their in-service temperature is high, time dependent creep may become significant. To investigate the secondary creep of low density foams under multiaxial loading, three-dimensional (3D) finite element (FE) Voronoi models are developed. The effects of relative density, temperature, cell irregularity, and stress state on the uniaxial creep are explored. By taking the mass at strut nodes into account, the creep foam model by Gibson and Ashby (Cellular Solids: Structure and Properties, 2nd ed., Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 1997) is modified. Obtained results show that the uniaxial secondary foam creep rate predicted by the FE simulations can be well captured by the modified creep model. For multiaxial secondary creep, a phenomenological elastoplastic constitutive model is extended to include the rate effect into the creep response of 3D Voronoi foams. Again, the model predictions agree well with the FE results. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.