Compressive and shear properties of commercially available polyurethane foams.
BACKGROUND
The shear properties of rigid polyurethane (PU-R) foams, routinely used to simulate cancellous bone, are not well characterized.


METHODS
The present assessment of the shear and compressive properties of four grades of Sawbones "Rigid cellular" PU-R foam tested 20 mm gauge diameter dumb-bell specimens in torsion and under axial loading.


RESULTS
Shear moduli ranged from 13.3 to 99.7 MPa, shear strengths from 0.7 MPa to 4.2 MPa. Compressive yield strains varied little with density while shear yield strains had peak values with "200 kgm-3" grade.


CONCLUSIONS
PU-R foams may be used to simulate the elastic but not failure properties of cancellous bone.
Thompson
Mark S
MS
Department of Orthopaedics, Lund University Hospital, Lund 22185, Sweden. mark.thompson@ort.lu.se
McCarthy
Ian D
ID
Lidgren
Lars
L
Ryd
Leif
L
D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000737:chemistry / Q000145:classification; D018786:Bone Substitutes / Q000737:chemistry*; D019245:Compressive Strength; D004548:Elasticity; D008422:Materials Testing / Q000379:methods*; D011140:Polyurethanes / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000145:classification; D033081:Shear Strength; D019415:Torque; D016474:Weight-Bearing
D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D018786:Bone Substitutes; D011140:Polyurethanes; C028279:polyurethane foam