MECHANICAL SELECTION OF FOAMS AND HONEYCOMBS USED FOR PACKAGING AND ENERGY-ABSORPTION

The volume of foams used in packaging is enormous. Proper design requi res identification of the correct material and selection of the correc t density for each particular application. The vast amount of data in the literature is in need of a systematic analysis and a compact prese ntation. In this paper, the energy-absorption data of each class of ce llular materials (such as open-cell elastic foams) are normalized and presented in a single diagram. Diagrams of this type are termed packag ing-selection diagrams, and the optimal density of a cellular material can be obtained from them once the maximum permitted stress of the pa ckaging is known. This new approach offers greater generality and simp licity than existing methods, such as the Janssen factor or energy-abs orption diagrams.