Abstract
In this study, the effect of loading rate on the strength and the absorbed energy of paper foam board was examined by a series of dynamic and quasi-static compression tests. For comparison, polystyrene foam board was also tested. In dynamic compression tests, a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) tube instead of an ordinary metal bar was used for the measurements of the load applied to the specimens, in order to relieve the impedance mismatch between stress bars and specimens. The absorbed energy up to a strain of 60 % in compression tests of paper foam board is about 1.3 times greater than that of polystyrene foam board. It was also found that the absorbed energy obtained from dynamic tests for paper foam board was about twice comparing with quasi-static results.
