{"id":14067,"date":"2026-10-06T12:22:54","date_gmt":"2026-10-06T10:22:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ikv-aachen.de\/rp\/crash-behaviour-of-integral-thermoplastic-foams-for-lightweight-structures\/"},"modified":"2026-10-07T12:54:53","modified_gmt":"2026-10-07T10:54:53","slug":"crash-behaviour-of-integral-thermoplastic-foams-for-lightweight-structures","status":"publish","type":"cpt_ikv_rp","link":"https:\/\/ikv-aachen.de\/en\/rp\/crash-behaviour-of-integral-thermoplastic-foams-for-lightweight-structures\/","title":{"rendered":"Crash behaviour of integral thermoplastic foams for lightweight structures"},"content":{"rendered":"<style type=\"text\/css\">\n    #single-header-block_15910b41e762b357fc0b71e26507e348 .swiperThumbsNavi .swiper-slide {\n        opacity: 0.4;\n    }\n\n    #single-header-block_15910b41e762b357fc0b71e26507e348 .swiperThumbsNavi .swiper-slide-thumb-active {\n        opacity: 1;\n    }\n<\/style>\n    <section id=\"single-header-block_15910b41e762b357fc0b71e26507e348\" class=\"block-single-header theGridWrapper \">\n        <div class=\"theGrid12\">\n            <div class=\" col-start-2 col-span-10 md:col-start-3  md:col-span-8\">\n                <h2 class=\"font-serif font-semibold text-blue text-sm w-4\/5\">\n                    Development of a practical calculation method for describing the crash behavior of injection-molded thermoplastic foams, taking into account the degree of expansion and dependence on strain rate                <\/h2>\n                                    <div class=\"mt-base text-blue text-sm font border-l-8  border-blue pl-base my-12 leading-normal \">\n                        Injection-moulded thermoplastic foams offer significant potential for lightweight design and, owing to their integral foam morphology, enable a substantial reduction in both component weight and material consumption. However, for reliable design under short-duration dynamic loading, industry still lacks a computational methodology that can capture the locally varying degree of foaming and the tension-compression asymmetry within the framework of conventional material models. The project TP Foam Crash aims to develop such a methodology.                    <\/div>\n                                            <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/section>\n\n\n<figure class=\" relative flex flex-col gap-2xs mb-xs md:mb-l xl:mb-xl\"><img decoding=\"async\"  class=\" w-full  \"  src=\"https:\/\/ikv-aachen.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/24650-N.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ikv-aachen.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/24650-N-748x499.jpg 748w, https:\/\/ikv-aachen.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/24650-N-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/ikv-aachen.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/24650-N-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1536px) 100vw, 1536px\" width=\"1536\" height=\"1024\" alt=\"24650 N\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><span class=\" text-copyright order-3 justify-end text-right w-full  w-full \">&copy; IKV<\/span><figcaption class=\" w-full  text-figcaption justify-end text-right \">Fig. 1: In the project, test plates with different morphologies are produced and their material properties characterised. On this basis, a micromechanical model is to be developed which will serve as the foundation for a calculation routine that predicts the properties of integral foam components using existing material data sets for the corresponding compact materials.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Initially, solid (compact) and foamed plates, as well as demonstrator components, will be manufactured using thermoplastic foam injection moulding. By varying the blowing-agent content, melt temperature, mould temperature, volumetric injection rate and plate thickness, a design of experiments will be implemented to capture how processing parameters affect foam morphology and mechanical response. The foam structure will be characterised locally using micrographs of prepared cross-sections and automated image analysis. In parallel, process simulations will be performed, with their predicted local degree of foaming calibrated against the measured density profiles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On this basis, a micromechanical model will subsequently be developed in the form of a representative volume element with an idealised pore architecture. The constitutive behaviour of the compact thermoplastic will be described using a strain-rate-dependent Drucker\u2013Prager model. By varying the degree of foaming and the strain rate, numerical stress\u2013strain curves will be generated, from which foaming-dependent reduction functions for stiffness, yield stress and strength are to be derived. These functions will then underpin a calculation routine that translates existing material cards for compact polymers into equivalent datasets for integral-foam components.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Finally, the methodology will be validated on test plaques and representative component geometries under impact loading. This will result in a computational design approach that enables small and medium-sized enterprises, in particular, to design injection-moulded thermoplastic foams reliably with an acceptable level of calibration effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<details class=\"wp-block-details is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary>Project data and Funding<\/summary>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We would like to thank the BMWE for funding the IGF project (funding code 24650 N) and the project partners for their cooperation.<\/p>\n\n\n<section id=\"logo-bar-block_cc76e857946b8d2b6b427080189970da\" class=\"block-logo-bar py-2xl  clear-both\">\n    <div class=\"theGridWrapper overflow-hidden  \">\n        <div class=\"grid grid-cols-[repeat(auto-fill,minmax(140px,1fr))] gap-base\">\n                            <figure class=\" relative h-full  \"><img decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"low\"  class=\" object-contain w-full h-full mb-base  \"  src=\"https:\/\/ikv-aachen.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/BMWE-Logo.png\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ikv-aachen.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/BMWE-Logo.png 500w, https:\/\/ikv-aachen.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/BMWE-Logo-335x335.png 335w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 748px) 100vw, 748px\" width=\"500\" height=\"500\" alt=\"BMWE-Logo\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/figure>                                <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/details>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Injection-moulded thermoplastic foams offer significant potential for lightweight design and, owing to their integral foam morphology, enable a substantial reduction in both component weight and material consumption. However, for reliable design under short-duration dynamic loading, industry still lacks a computational methodology that can capture the locally varying degree of foaming and the tension-compression asymmetry within the framework of conventional material models. The project TP Foam Crash aims to develop such a methodology.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":14041,"parent":0,"template":"","tags":[],"research_fields":[813],"class_list":["post-14067","cpt_ikv_rp","type-cpt_ikv_rp","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","research_fields-injection-moulding"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Crash behaviour of integral thermoplastic foams for lightweight structures | IKV-Aachen<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ikv-aachen.de\/en\/rp\/crash-behaviour-of-integral-thermoplastic-foams-for-lightweight-structures\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Crash behaviour of integral thermoplastic foams for lightweight structures | IKV-Aachen\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Injection-moulded thermoplastic foams offer significant potential for lightweight design and, owing to their integral foam morphology, enable a substantial reduction in both component weight and material consumption. However, for reliable design under short-duration dynamic loading, industry still lacks a computational methodology that can capture the locally varying degree of foaming and the tension-compression asymmetry within the framework of conventional material models. 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