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Auxetics metamaterials show high performance in their specific characteristics, while the absolute stiffness and strength are much weaker due to substantial porosity. This paper aims to propose a novel auxetic honeycomb structure manufactured using selective laser melting and study the enhanced mechanical performance when subjected to in-plane compression loading.

A novel composite structure was designed and fabricated on the basis of an arrowhead auxetic honeycomb and filled with polyurethane foam. The deformation mechanism and mechanical responses of the structure with different structural parameters were investigated experimentally and numerically. With the verified simulation models, the effects of parameters on compression strength and energy absorption characteristics were further discussed through parametric analysis.

A good agreement was achieved between the experimental and simulation results, showing an evidently enhanced compression strength and energy absorption capacity. The interaction between the auxetic honeycomb and foam reveals to exploit a reinforcement effect on the compression performance. The parametric analysis indicates that the composite with smaller included angel and higher foam density exhibits higher plateau stress and better specific energy absorption, while increasing strut thickness is undesirable for high energy absorption efficiency.

The results of this study served to demonstrate an enhanced mechanical performance for the foam filled auxetic honeycomb, which is expected to be exploited with applications in aerospace, automobile, civil engineering and protective devices. The findings of this study can provide numerical and experimental references for the design of structural parameters.

This paper aims to develop a numerical model to investigate coupled conduction radiation heat transfer in a multilayer semi-transparent polymeric foam.

The model uses a multi-phase approach in which the radiative transfer is determined by solving the radiative transfer equation explicitly in the whole medium incorporating an interface condition valid in the geometric optics rgime. This is executed by using a combination of ray splitting and a discrete curved ray tracing technique. Both partial photon reflection and total internal reflection at the interface are considered in the present investigation.

The directional distribution of intensity within the whole medium can be determined, which is used to obtain the detailed temperature profile inside the domain. The performance of the proposed methodology has been tested by simulating the modelled foam at ambient conditions. The results obtained from the simulations are in good agreement with the published results and shows that there is a global non-linearity in the temperature profile in problems where conduction to radiation parameter is small.

Specular nature of radiative transfer at the interface is accounted for in the present analysis. Instead of working with direction integrated quantities (as in the case of P1 approximation), each bundle of rays is treated separately within the whole medium. This model serves as a starting point for a detailed spatially three dimensional study of heat transfer in foams and the mathematical nature of the formulation is such that it may result in an implementation to three-dimensions.

The purpose of this study is to review and summarise the existing available literature on lightweight cladding systems to provide detailed information on fire behaviour (ignitibility, heat release rate and smoke toxicity) and various test method protocols. Additionally, the paper discusses the challenges and provides updated knowledge and recommendation on selective-fire mechanisms such as rapid-fire spread, air cavity and fire re-entry behaviours due to dripping and melting of lightweight composite claddings.

A comprehensive literature review on fire behaviour, fire hazard and testing methods of lightweight composite claddings has been conducted in this research. In summarising all possible fire hazards, particular attention is given to the potential impact of toxicity of lightweight cladding fires. In addition, various criteria for fire performance evaluation of lightweight composite claddings are also highlighted. These evaluations are generally categorised as small-, intermediate- and large-scale test methods.

The major challenges of lightweight claddings are rapid fire spread, smoke production and toxicity and inconsistency in fire testing.

The review highlights the current challenges in cladding fire, smoke toxicity, testing system and regulation to provide some research recommendations to address the identified challenges.

This paper recommends a method entitled “SMED 4.0” as a development of conventional single minute exchange of die (SMED) to avoid defect occurrence during production and improve sustainability, besides reducing setup time.

The method builds upon an extensive literature review and in-depth explorative research in SMED and zero defect manufacturing (ZDM). SMED 4.0 incorporates an evolutionary stage that employs predict-prevent strategies using Industry 4.0 technologies including the Internet of Things (IoT) and machine learning (ML) algorithms.

It presents the applicability of the proposed approach in (1) identifying the triple bottom line (TBL) criteria, which are affected by defects; (2) predicting the time of defect occurrence if any; (3) preventing defective products by performing online setting on machines during production as needed; (4) maintaining the desired quality of the product during the production and (5) improving TBL sustainability in manufacturing processes.

The extended view of SMED 4.0 in this research, as well as its analytical approach, helps practitioners develop their SMED approaches in a more holistic way. The practical application of SMED 4.0 is illustrated by implementing it in a real-life manufacturing case.

The purpose of this paper is to implement the variational iteration method and the homotopy perturbation method to give a rational approximation solution of the foam drainage equation with time‐ and space‐fractional derivatives.

The fractional derivatives are described in the Caputo sense. In these schemes, the solution takes the form of a convergent series with easily computable components.

Numerical examples are given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the present methods.

Results show that the proposed schemes are very effective and convenient for solving linear and nonlinear fractional differential equations with high accuracy.

Most support surfaces in comfort applications and sporting equipment are made from pressure-relieving foam such as viscoelastic polyurethane. However, for some users, foam is not the best material as it acts as a thermal insulator and it may not offer adequate postural support. The additive manufacturing of such surfaces and equipment may alleviate these issues, but material and design investigation is needed to optimize the printing parameters for use in pressure relief applications. This study aims to assess the ability of an additive manufactured flexible polymer to perform similarly to a viscoelastic foam for use in comfort applications.

Three-dimensional (3D) printed samples of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) are tested in uniaxial compression with four different infill patterns and varying infill percentage. The behaviours of the samples are compared to a viscoelastic polyurethane foam used in various comfort applications.

Results indicate that TPU experiences an increase in strength with an increasing infill percentage. Findings from the study suggest that infill pattern impacts the compressive response of 3D printed material, with two-dimensional patterns inducing an elasto-plastic buckling of the cell walls in TPU depending on infill percentage. Such buckling may not be a beneficial property for comfort applications. Based on the results, the authors suggest printing from TPU with a low-density 3D infill, such as 5% gyroid.

Several common infill patterns are characterised in compression in this work, suggesting the importance of infill choices when 3D printing end-use products and design for manufacturing.

Gives a bibliographical review of the finite element analyses of sandwich structures from the theoretical as well as practical points of view. Both isotropic and composite materials are considered. Topics include: material and mechanical properties of sandwich structures; vibration, dynamic response and impact problems; heat transfer and thermomechanical responses; contact problems; fracture mechanics, fatigue and damage; stability problems; special finite elements developed for the analysis of sandwich structures; analysis of sandwich beams, plates, panels and shells; specific applications in various fields of engineering; other topics. The analysis of cellular solids is also included. The bibliography at the end of this paper contains 655 references to papers, conference proceedings and theses/dissertations dealing with presented subjects that were published between 1980 and 2001.

In the event of a crash involving a car, its seats, together with their backrests and head supports, ensure the safety of the passengers. The filling material used for such a car seat is normally made of polyurethane foam. To simulate the behaviour of the seat assembly during a crash, the material characteristics of the seat-filling foam should be appropriately modelled. The purpose of this paper is to present a method, with which the proper parameter values of the selected material model for the seat-filling foam can be easily determined.

In the study, an experiment with the specimen from seat-filling foam was carried out. The results from this experiment were the basis for the determination of the parameter values of the low-density-foam material model, which is often used in crash-test simulations. Two different numerical optimisation algorithms – a genetic algorithm and a gradient-descent algorithm – were coupled with LS-DYNA explicit simulations to identify the material parameters.

The paper provides comparison of two optimisation algorithms and discusses the engineering applicability of the results.

This paper presents an approach for the identification of the missing parameter values of the highly non-linear material model, if these cannot be easily determined directly from experimental data.

Reports on an automated apparatus and test procedure to determine the convective and diffusive gas and vapor transport properties of small pieces of woven and nonwoven fabrics, membranes, and foams. The apparatus allows measurement of these properties in the very small quantities typical of material development programs, where the largest sample available may only be 1‐10cm² in area. The convection/diffusion test method is useful for determining the gas flow resistance property and water vapor diffusion properties from a single experimental run. This eliminates the need for two separate tests, which is the usual procedure. The apparatus may also be used to perform separate tests for the diffusion property or the air permeability property, which may have some advantages when materials exhibit strongly concentration‐dependent transport properties. The convection/diffusion test method is well‐suited for rapid screening and comparison of the properties of a large number of materials with widely‐varying transport properties.

This numerical study explores the influence of the time dependence of material fluid parameters on the transient temperature evolution during the growth of fluid shells. The shell is spherical, the fluid is Newtonian, and the flow is induced by a constant driving pressure. The coupled heat and flow equations are solved numerically using the cobody (Lagrangian) transformation and a central difference discretization in space. The range of material values is adjusted from existing experiments. It is generally found that the variation in viscosity, surface tension and specific heat can have a significant influence on both the growth rate and temperature evolution. Thermal conductivity is found to be of little influence.