Overall Response of Fluid-Filled Elastomers Subjected to High Loading Rates

For a long time, porous materials have been investigated for application in impact protection equipment as packaging, helmets, armors, etc. With repeated loading, the elastomeric cell walls lose their elasticity and cannot return to initial state. In the present work deformation behavior of porous elastomer filled with a non-Newtonian fluid on the overall response of the composite is obtained for high loading rates. Elastomer is modeled as an incompressible, neo-Hookean material, whereas the fluid is modeled as an incompressible, power-law fluid. When the load is applied, deformation of the elastomer causes fluid to flow out of the pore and upon unloading the fluid moves back into the pore. The analytical results are compared with numerical simulation results. Numerical simulations have been carried out in COMSOL Multiphysics software. A good match is obtained between the analytical and numerical results.