Prediction of mechanical properties of microcellular plastics using the variational asymptotic method for unit cell homogenization (VAMUCH) method

Emily Yu, Lih Sheng Turng*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

Abstract

This work presents the application of the micromechanical variational asymptotic method for unit cell homogenization (VAMUCH) with a three-dimensional unit cell (UC) structure and a coupled, macroscale finite element analysis for analyzing and predicting the effective elastic properties of microcellular injection molded plastics. A series of injection molded plastic samples - which included polylactic acid (PLA), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), and thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) - with microcellular foamed structures were produced and their mechanical properties were compared with predicted values. The results showed that for most material samples, the numerical prediction was in fairly good agreement with experimental results, which demonstrates the applicability and reliability of VAMUCH in analyzing the mechanical properties of porous materials. The study also found that material characteristics such as brittleness or ductility could influence the predicted results and that the VAMUCH prediction could be improved when the UC structure was more representative of the real composition.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationASME 2013 International Manufacturing Science and Engineering Conference Collocated with the 41st North American Manufacturing Research Conference, MSEC 2013
DOIs
StatePublished - 2013
Externally publishedYes
EventASME 2013 International Manufacturing Science and Engineering Conference Collocated with the 41st North American Manufacturing Research Conference, MSEC 2013 - Madison, WI, United States
Duration: 10 06 201314 06 2013

Publication series

NameASME 2013 International Manufacturing Science and Engineering Conference Collocated with the 41st North American Manufacturing Research Conference, MSEC 2013
Volume1

Conference

ConferenceASME 2013 International Manufacturing Science and Engineering Conference Collocated with the 41st North American Manufacturing Research Conference, MSEC 2013
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityMadison, WI
Period10/06/1314/06/13

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