title: An experimental-finite element analysis on the kinetic energy absorption capacity of polyvinyl alcohol sponge.
abstract: Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) sponge is in widespread use for biomedical and tissue engineering applications owing to its biocompatibility, availability, relative cheapness, and excellent mechanical properties. This study reports a novel concept of design in energy absorbing materials which consist in the use of PVA sponge as an alternative reinforcement material to enhance the energy loss of impact loads. An experimental study is carried out to measure the mechanical properties of the PVA sponge under uniaxial loading. The kinetic energy absorption capacity of the PVA sponge is computed by a hexahedral finite element (FE) model of the steel ball and bullet through the LS-DYNA code under impact load at three different thicknesses (5, 10, 15mm). The results show that a higher sponge thickness invokes a higher energy loss of the steel ball and bullet. The highest energy loss of the steel ball and bullet is observed for the thickest sponge with 160 and 35J, respectively. The most common type of traumatic brain injury in which the head subject to impact load causes the brain to move within the skull and consequently brain hemorrhaging. These results suggest the application of the PVA sponge as a great kinetic energy absorber material compared to commonly used expanded polystyrene foams (EPS) to absorb most of the impact energy and reduces the transmitted load. The results might have implications not only for understanding of the mechanical properties of PVA sponge but also for use as an alternative reinforcement material in helmet and packaging material design.
authors.affiliation: School of Mechanical Engineering, Iran University of Science and Technology, Tehran 16846, Iran; Tissue Engineering and Biological Systems Research Lab, School of Mechanical Engineering, Iran University of Science and Technology, Tehran 16846, Iran.
authors.forename: Alireza
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Karimi
authors.affiliation: School of Mechanical Engineering, Iran University of Science and Technology, Tehran 16846, Iran; Tissue Engineering and Biological Systems Research Lab, School of Mechanical Engineering, Iran University of Science and Technology, Tehran 16846, Iran. Electronic address: mnavid@iust.ac.ir.
authors.forename: Mahdi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Navidbakhsh
authors.affiliation: School of Mechanical Engineering, Iran University of Science and Technology, Tehran 16846, Iran; Tissue Engineering and Biological Systems Research Lab, School of Mechanical Engineering, Iran University of Science and Technology, Tehran 16846, Iran.
authors.forename: Reza
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Razaghi
mesh_terms: D020342:Finite Element Analysis; D008422:Materials Testing; D011142:Polyvinyl Alcohol / Q000737:chemistry*; D011145:Polyvinyls / Q000737:chemistry*; D023822:Tissue Engineering
chemical_list: D011145:Polyvinyls; C026699:ivalon sponge; D011142:Polyvinyl Alcohol
keywords: Energy loss; Finite element; Helmet; Kinetic energy absorption; Polyvinyl alcohol sponge