Mechanical properties of carbon foams under quasi-static and dynamic loading

Abstract

In this study, compressive behaviours of carbon foam are investigated experimentally under quasi-static and dynamic loading. Carbon foams with two densities of 320 and 480 kg/m3 are considered and their microstructures are compared. Two testing machines are employed to apply quasi-static and dynamic compressive load respectively with the strain rate varying between 6.67 × 10−4 s−1 and 178 s−1. The mechanical properties of carbon foams including compressive strength and modulus are measured under various strain rates and their dynamic increase factors (DIF) are compared. Based on the testing data, empirical formulae are proposed for both types of carbon foams to predict their dynamic mechanical properties, i.e., compressive strength and modulus.