New laws for the tension/compression properties of Voronoi closed-cell polymer foams in relation to their microstructure

Closed-cell polymer foams are well-known for their thermal capabilities, but works on the mechanical behavior of these materials are scarce, especially concerning the influence of the foam's microstructure. The objective of this study is to investigate the influence of the relative density and irregularity of Voronoi closed-cell foam structures on their elastic characteristics (such as the Young's modulus and the Poisson's ratio) and plastic characteristics (such as elastic limits and collapse stresses). New laws are proposed in order to approximate the macroscopic mechanical behavior of Voronoi closed-cell foams under uniaxial tension and compression. (C) 2013 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.