Shear modulus of conventional and auxetic open-cell foam

This work analyses shear moduli of conventional and auxetic open-cell polymer foams. Shear moduli are i) measured directly and ii) calculated by applying elasticity theory for isotropic solid materials, using Young's moduli and Poisson's ratios from compression tests. Zero and negative Poisson's ratio foams are fabricated from conventional foams using a thermo-mechanical process. Fabricated and conventional foams are compression tested in three orthogonal directions, up to densification at ~60% compression, with full-field strain measurements obtained using Digital Image Correlation. Compression testing is followed by shear testing. The measured shear moduli vary from 16±7 kPa for negative Poisson's ratio foams to 38±2 kPa for zero Poisson's ratio foams, with conventional foams in between with a mean value of 32±8 kPa. The calculated shear moduli are typically lower than the measured values. The results suggest that the application of elasticity theory to calculate the low strain shear modulus of open-cell foam from Young's modulus and Poisson's ratio measured in compression tests is appropriate if the foam is isotropic.