Non-linear mechanics of nanocellulose foams

Sammanfattning: There has been a growing interest in nano-fibrillar cellulose (NFC), which has been fuelled not merely by the advantages it presents in terms of strength to weight ratio and biodegradability, but also owing to the recent advances in production techniques. NFC foam is essentially a hierarchical structure, wherein nanofibrils account for the smallest scale, with the pores/cell walls forming the meso scale. A complete scanning of the mechanical property space would require understanding of the contribution of each of these scales in these foams. We aim to understand these scale relationships, eventually allowing for the possibility of tailoring material properties at scales of interest.In paper A, we look at the applicability of two-dimensional random Voronoi structures in capturing the large-strain compressive response of these foams. We introduce internal contact, into the interiors of the cell walls, with the aim of capturing the densification regime. We then study the scaling effects associated with such a model, and, subsequently single out the contribution of internal contact on the overall compressive response. While it is seen that internal contact in random structures allow for capturing the densification regime, the model only provides an order of magnitude agreement with experimental data.In paper B, we characterize the NFC foam based on both uni-axial and bi-axial experiments. One of the aims is to ascertain if there are effects of directionality to the stress-strain response. For the two considered porosities, we do not find any evidence for directionality in the response. We then proceed to make the assumption of isotropy, and adopt the well-known Ogden-Roxburgh “pseudo-elastic” model - originally proposed for incompressible rubber like materials - for the particular case of highly compressible foams. The model allows to capture the damage observed in unloading and also the significant residual strains.