Computational homogenization analysis applied to hyperelasticity for porous polymers

Abstract

The porous polymers are applied to sports equipment like a shoe sole, shock protector and grip tape of racquets. To analyze the mechanical properties of porous polymers under large deformation, the formulation of the homogenization analysis of hyperelasticy and mechanical loading test results of porous polymers for sports equipment were described in this paper. The computational simulation program of the hyperelasticity based on the homogenization method was newly developed. In order to evaluate the pore ratio on the mechanical characteristics of porous polymers, unit cell computation of microscopic structure were performed. In the mechanical loading tests, fundamental properties of porous polymers for sports equipment were shown to investigate the effect of microscopic pores diameter and material stiffness on the macroscopic mechanical characteristics. By the comparing the numerical simulation with experimental results, applicability of the proposed method to the porous polymer was shown. © 2012 Published by Elsevier Ltd.