Thesis (M. S.)--Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2009. / Committee Chair: Gall, Ken; Committee Co-Chair: McDowell, David; Committee Member: Guldberg, Robert; Committee Member: Sanderson, Terry; Committee Member: Shofner, Meisha; Committee Member: Tannenbaum, Rina.

Thesis (doctoral)--Technische Universiteit Delft, 1997. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Canterbury, 2009. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references. Also available via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Ohio University, March, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 122-129)

The use of cellular foam as a core material in light-weight structural applications is of considerable interest. However, advances in this technology have been limited due to the lack of information concerning the macroscopic material behavior of cellular foams. Of particular interest in the design of composite structures is the shear modulus, G, of the core material, which must be established with a high degree of accuracy. Current ASTM test methods for shear modulus determination were researched and found inadequate for testing cellular foam materials. The difficulty in testing foam and the inaccuracies associated with the standard test methods established the need for the development of a test method for these materials. The test method (test fixture and test procedure) developed for cellular foam materials is presented. The design of the test fixture and the finite element analysis performed to determine fixture accuracy are discussed in detail. Additionally, the test procedure is presented, as well as the results for the 32 tests performed.

A project report submitted to the Faculty of Engineering, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Engineering. Johannesburg 1998. / Various studies have been done to show that labour-based construction can meet the high standards normally required in the construction of roads. The organisational requirements that were needed to ensure the efficient use of labour have also been dealt with in various studies. Tile need for alleviation of poverty, unemployment and the negative social impact thereof by increasing the labour input in construction is understood by all concerned. A further step is however necessary before the idea of increasing the . labour component in any kind of roadwork can be taken seriously. Engineers need to move forward from the policy and organisational issues associated with labour intensive construction and start to provide designers with sound and innovative engineering solutions to overcome the hurdles experienced on the ground. The study looks at the process of foam bitumen stabilisation of soils and gravels with a view of utilising this innovative method for labour intensive construction. The material after having been stabilised can be placed in a stockpile. Actual durations that the material can safely remain in stockpile have been determined in this study to be in excess of six months for recycled asphalt and in excess of four months for the foam stabilised sand. Foam stabilised gravel was also studied and showed that after a year in stockpile the material failed probably due to a weakening of the bitumen and aggregate bond. Covering the stockpiled material did not show any significant difference to that of a similar uncovered stockpile. The position within the stockpile also did not have much effect on the engineering properties of the stoc piled material. The fact that the foam stabilised material can be worked on when cold and that it can be stockpiled for several months implies that the material is labour friendly and can be used in labour intensive construction of road base course layers or wearing course layers. / AC2017

Thesis (B.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 1982. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ENGINEERING / Includes bibliographical references. / by Curtis Harold Stern. / B.S.

Two foams, a polyether (density 32.5 kg/m3) and a polyester (density 38 kg/m3) foam were tested in a shock tube to analyze the interaction of a normal shock wave and a compressible porous material. The foam specimens were placed in the shock tube test section! the foam being bounded by two steel walis, two glass windows and a solid back plate. The compression chamber of the shock tube was pressurized and the diaphragm separating the compression chamber and the expansion chamber was ruptured, thus producing a normal shock wave which travels down the shock tube and strikes the foam. Piezoelectric pressure transducers 'vvera used to record the pressure before, alongside and behind the foam. A complete set of schlieren photographs, recording the interaction of the incident shock wave and the porous material were taken for each foam. A method ,tortracking the path of particles of foam (path photographs) was developed. Combining the information obtained from the pressure records, schlieren photographs and path photographs a complete picture of the shock wave foam interaction was developed. All the gas waves were identified and analyzed, A foam wave (velocity 90 m/s) travelling through the skeleton of the material was discovered. A physical model was developed to explain the high pressure recorded behind the foam. This model is based upon the foam being compressed and forming an almost solid piston, thus forcing the trapped gas into a diminishing volume and creating a high pressure behind the foam. The theoretical analyses of Monti (30), Gel'fand (20) and IBvozdeva (22) were analyz.ed and compared. The general finding was that for the range of incident mach numbers 1.~i1 to 1.46 Monti's analysis under predicts the reflected Mach number by 3 % and Gel'fand's analysis over predicts the reflected Mach number by 6 %. The coefficient of pressure increase (the ratio of the maximum pressure recorded behind the foam to the equivalent pressure recorded during ~he reflection of a shock wave from a solid wall) as predicted iJy Gvoz.deva's ane.lysisfor the polyether foam lies wjthin the scatter of the experimental results. However for the polyester foam Gvozdeva's analysis under predicts the coefficient of pressure increase by 15%. / GR 2016

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Rutgers University, 2008. / "Graduate Program in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering." Includes bibliographical references (p. 121-129).

Supercritical CO2 foam processing of biopolymers represents a green processing route to environmentally friendly media and packaging foams. Mater-Bi, a multiconstituent biopolymer of polyester, starch and vegetable oils has shown much promise for biodegradation. The polymer, however, is not foamable with CO2 so blended with another polymer which is. Polycaprolactone is a biopolymer with potential of 4000% change in volume with CO2. Thus we investigate blends of Mater-Bi (MB) and polycaprolactone (PCL) foamed in supercritical CO2 using the batch process. Characterization of the foamed and unfoamed samples were done using X-ray diffraction (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Micrographs of the samples from the SEM revealed that the cell size of the foams reduced and increased with increase in MB concentration and increase in the foaming temperature respectively. Mechanical tests; tensile, compression, shear and impact were performed on the foamed samples. It was noted that between the 20-25% wt. MB, there was an improvement in the mechanical properties. This suggests that at these compositions, there is a high interaction between PCL and MB at the molecular level compared to other compositions. The results indicate that green processing of polymer blends is viable.