Performance evaluation of extruded polystyrene foam for aerospace engineering applications using frequency analyses

Abstract

The conducted research presents theoretical and experimental research on extruded polystyrene in laminated composite structures, used in aerospace engineering. Different samples of extruded polystyrene with porous structure fraction (pores and voids) were researched and compared. The materials were tested by conducting piezoelectric micro-vibration tests and frequency analysis methods to compare the vibration damping characteristics of the materials. The frequency analysis shows that the first, and main, resonance frequency of the polystyrene materials is 19.8 Hz and has harmonic steps. The finite element method used for numerical simulation, combined with experimental measurements based on optimization of the frequency response, enabled the modelling of the extruded polystyrene porous structure behaviour. The maximum level of surface deformation between the experimental test and numerical simulation is ±5·10-7 m, or circa 3%. The results indicated that the porous structure fractions can improve the adaptive properties of passive control systems used for vibration damping applications that operate in the low and middle frequency zones for unmanned aerial vehicles.