Experimental study of natural cork and cork agglomerates as a substitute for expanded polystyrene foams under compressive loads

Miralbes Buil, R. (Universidad de Zaragoza) ; Ranz Angulo, D. (Universidad de Zaragoza) ; Ivens, J. ; Abad Blasco, J.O. (Universidad de Zaragoza)

Resumen: Expanded polystyrene (EPS) is a material that is widely used in energy absorbing applications, especially in helmets, despite its non-renewable origin. Cork and its derivatives, however, are proposed as a substitute for polystyrene foam (EPS) due to their renewable origin and their easy recyclability. In spite of the low-environmental footprint of cork and its derivatives, there is insufficient data on their mechanical behaviour. Consequently, under dynamic and quasi-static loads, four different-density EPS, a natural cork material and five different cork products with different grain sizes and heat treatments were tested. They were compared in terms of their stress–strain and specific stress–strain curve, their volumetric capability to absorb energy, their specific energy, average decelerations and peak deceleration. Finally, EPS foams cannot recover their initial shape upon deformation due to their low resilience capability. This is especially important in applications such as helmets, which are bound to be subjected to multiple impacts. However, cork and its products could have this capability for resilience and would therefore be more suitable for certain applications.

Idioma: Inglés

DOI: 10.1007/s00226-020-01254-6

Año: 2021

Publicado en: WOOD SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 55 (2021), 419–443
ISSN: 0043-7719

Factor impacto JCR: 2.898 (2021)

Categ. JCR: MATERIALS SCIENCE, PAPER & WOOD rank: 2 / 20 = 0.1 (2021) - Q1 - T1
Categ. JCR: FORESTRY rank: 20 / 69 = 0.29 (2021) - Q2 - T1

Factor impacto CITESCORE: 4.5 - Agricultural and Biological Sciences (Q1) - Engineering (Q2) - Materials Science (Q2)

Factor impacto SCIMAGO: 0.553 - Forestry (Q1) - Plant Science (Q1) - Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering (Q1)

Tipo y forma: Article (PostPrint)

Área (Departamento): Área Ingeniería Mecánica (Dpto. Ingeniería Mecánica)
Área (Departamento): Área Expresión Gráfica en Ing. (Dpto. Ingeniería Diseño Fabri.)