Cyclic compression behaviour of multilayered nanostructured foams: Numerical meso scale modelling and experimental validation

In the present paper the mechanical fatigue behavior of a complex porous and hierarchical structure at a macroscopic scale is investigated from the experimental point of view. A numerical model describing the cyclic behavior is developed considering the geometric structure of the foam and the constitutive model, using a macro-mechanical hyperelastic material Ogden models. The coated open cell foam is characterized by Representative Volume Element of Finite Elements (FEA-RVE) model at the mesoscale with periodic boundary conditions. The RVE model is based on the microscopic foam topology and density, then a tessellation is applied to randomly generate the inner structure. The FEA model is then inserted, and the overall response is validated and calibrated from quasi-static and fatigue compression tests run at two different frequencies. The mesoscale model is used to simulate the mechanism involved in the compression of PU hierar-chical composite foams, the structure buckling and the dissipated energy.