Strength characteristic of polyurethane with variation of polyol to isocyanate mix ratio : A numerical analysis

Based on numerical analysis, we determine the ideal mix ratio of polyol-isocyanate content that influence the strength characteristic of polyurethane foam subjected to axial loadings. This paper focuses on compressive strength characteristics and provides the solution for ideal mix ratios of polyurethane foam. Fourteen (14) mix ratios are investigated in the numerical analyses; i.e. 1:0.59, 1:0.67, 1:0.77, 1:1.00, 1:1.10, 1:1.20, 1:1.30, 1:1.40, 1:1.50, 1:1.60, 1:1.70, 1:1.80, 1:1.90 and 1:2.00. The ABAQUS is adopted to measure the strength characteristic effects of each mix ratios and the numerical results are compared with the experimental results obtained in [1]. It is found that the maximum compressive strength is achieved with 1:2 mix ratio. This result is identical on both experimental work and numerical analysis. It is shown that the isocyanate ratio in polyol to isocyanate ratio increases the compressive strength. In conclusion, the ideal polyol-isocyanate content is determined with the relationship between the compressive stress and polyol-isocyanate content variation. It is observed that the 1:1 of polyol-isocyanate content provides an adequate expansion and compressive strength.