Identification of material properties of foam used in motorcyclist protective equipment based on obtained experimental data and optimization algorithm

Abstract

This article deals with the material parameters identification of foam used in motorcyclist protective equipment, such as a shoulder pad. Experiments, namely a compression, a tension and an impact test were performed to obtain source and target data. The low-density foam material model was selected to characterize the foam. The material model was used in the finite element simulation. The numerical simulation of the impact test was used for an optimization. The parameters of the model were identified using an evolutionary algorithm in the optiSLang 3.0 software. The obtained material model will be used for the simulation of the standard test of protectors consisting of the foam used in motorcyclist protective equipment.