Low density polyethylene,expanded polystyrene and expanded polypropylene: Strain rate and size effects on mechanical properties

Polymeric foam materials may be used as energy absorbing materials for protection in impact scenarios, and design with these materials requires the mechanical properties of foams across a range of deformation rates, where high deformation rate testing often requires small samples for testing. Owing to their cellular macrostructure, and the large deformations that occur during loading of foams, the measured stress-strain response of a foam material may be influenced by the sample size. In this study, the mechanical properties of three closed-cell polymeric foams (Low Density Polyethylene, Expanded Polystyrene and Expanded Polypropylene) at two different densities were investigated over a range of deformation rates from 0.01 s⁻¹ to 100 s⁻¹. For each foam material, three different nominal sample sizes (10 mm, 17 mm and 35 mm) were tested. On average, the polymeric foam materials exhibited increasing stress with increasing deformation rate, for a given amount of strain.Density variation was identified at the sample level, with smaller samples often exhibiting lower density. Expanded Polystyrene demonstrated the highest variability in sample density and corresponding variability in mechanical response, qualitatively supported by observed variations in the macrostructure of the foam. Expanded Polypropylene exhibited variability in density with sample size, and observable variability in the material macrostructure; however, the dependence of the measured mechanical properties on sample size was modest. Low Density Polyethylene was found to have a relatively consistent cell size at the macrostructure level, and the material density did not vary significantly with sample size. In a similar manner, the dependence of measured mechanical properties on sample size was modest. The effect of sample size was identified to be material specific, and it is recommended that this be assessed using sample-specific density measurements and considering different sized samples when testing foam materials.     

南阳膨胀土的宏观结构与路堑边坡病害治理

南阳盆地是我国膨胀土主要分布地区之一,在宁(南京)—西(西安)铁路施工工程地质调查中,发现南阳地区上第三系中新统湖相沉积膨胀土中发育的构造裂隙、中更新统冲洪积膨胀土中发育的卸荷裂隙和全新统湖沼相膨胀土中发育的收缩裂隙控制了路堑边坡病害的形式、规模和破坏特征。施工过程中采取了针对性措施治理边坡病害,取得了明显的工程效果。