A simplified compression test for the estimation of the Poisson's ratio of viscoelastic foams

This paper describes a simplified procedure for determining the Poisson's ratio of homogeneous and isotropic viscoelastic materials. A cylindrical shaped material is axially excited by an electromagnetic shaker and consequent displacement waves are investigated. Using a frequency sweep as an excitation signal, the frequency domain displacement response is measured upstream and sideways of the sample itself. A plane cross-section analytical model of the experimental setup is used to estimate Poisson's ratio through a minimisation-based procedure, applied to radial displacement once the complex modulus has been directly determined under the assumption of spring-like behaviour of the axial displacement. The results are presented and discussed for different materials and compared to well-established quasi-static and finite element simulations. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.