Investigation of mechanical behaviour of expanded polystyrene under compressive and bending loadings

Abstract

Expanded polystyrene (EPS) is used in a variety of applications due to its characteristics, light weight, good thermal insulation and durability. Expanded polystyrene, when used to insulate buildings, undergoes various mechanical stresses, such as: compression stresses, bending stresses, dynamic stresses or shock stresses. This paper presents the results of three-point compression and bending tests for four types of polystyrene (EPS-50, EPS-80, EPS-100 and EPS-120) at different speeds. Based on the data resulting from the compression tests, the theoretical mathematical model was determined, which can be used both for determining the theoretical mechanical characteristics and for modelling the EPS properties in numerical simulations.