Prediction of impact forces for shock-cushioning elastomer-pad design

We measure the impact forces and deflections resulting from drop tests of a mass with a flat impact surface onto flat pads of various elastomeric materials, and show that the forces can be predicted quantitatively with no adjustable parameters by using a theory whose only inputs are the linear visco...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inBiomedical sciences instrumentation Vol. 35; p. 15
Main Authors Goyal, S, Larson, R G, Aloisio, C J
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 1999
Subjects
Elasticity
Elastomers
Models, Theoretical
Physical Phenomena
Physics
Temperature
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Summary:We measure the impact forces and deflections resulting from drop tests of a mass with a flat impact surface onto flat pads of various elastomeric materials, and show that the forces can be predicted quantitatively with no adjustable parameters by using a theory whose only inputs are the linear viscoelastic characteristics of the material, measured in small-amplitude oscillatory deformations. The theory, which models the elastomer as a nonlinear neo-Hookean material, is accurate for several elastomeric solids including polyurethanes, polynorbornene, and poly-vinyl-chlorides (PVCs), over a wide range of impact velocities, masses, temperatures and pad thicknesses. The application in mind is the rational design of shock-cushioning pads and components in footwear and in portable equipment.
ISSN:0067-8856