128 Finite element analysis of porous materials by homogenization theory

Abstract

To analyze the mechanical properties of porous polymers for sports equipment under large deformation, mechanical loading tests and numerical analysis using homogenization theory were described in this paper. Porous polymers are applied to sports equipment such as shoe sole, shin-guard and helmet. In the mechanical loading tests, the fundamental properties of porous polymers for sports equipment and the effect of microscopic pore ratio on the macroscopic mechanical characteristics were investigated. In the numerical analysis, to evaluate the applicability of the simulation program to porous polymers, homogenization analysis of microscopic skeletal wall of which was assumed as nearly incompressible hyperelasticity is demonstrated. The microstructures of porous polymer were assumed to deform uniformly, and the microscopic periodicity remains under large deformation. By comparing the numerical simulation with the mechanical loading test results, the applicability of the proposed model for the porous polymer was shown.