| Abstract: | A mathematical model of the deformative properties and structure of lightweight, monotropic (or isotropic in the limiting case) plastic foams with a pronounced strut-like structure has been elaborated in the linear theory of deformation. A selection of five independent elastic constants is described. For the integral characterization of the deformative properties of plastic foams as micrononhomogeneous composite materials, the elastic constants are introduced as the effective constants. In order to describe the plastic foam structure, a local model consisting of two parts is proposed, i.e., a model of a continuous medium for the calculation of stresses and a local structure model. Considering deformation parallel to the foam rise direction when the semiaxes hypothesis is assumed, the Young modulus and Poisson's ratio are determined.Institute of Polymer Mechanics. Translated from Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, Vol. 33, No. 6, pp. 719–733, November–December, 1997. |
