Abstract
Polypropylene(PP) foams are widely used as protective materials such as automotive bumper and safety helmet, but whose dynamic behaviour are not well defined. In this paper, the compression tests by Split Hopkinson Pressure Bar were conducted to obtain the stress-strain curve and to investigate the effect of density on the absorption of impact energy in the PP foams. Three kinds of foams were chosen depending upon the density. The result of the experiment has revealed that the stiffness of the low-density PP foam is remarkably increased at high strain rate compared with that of the high-density PP foam. And it is also shown that the absorption of impact energy are greatly influenced by the density of PP foam. These results are expected to be utilized for the development of a protective structure with polymer foams.
