Numerical analysis of the fracture toughness of low-density open-cell Voronoi foams

In this study, the geometry of open-cell foams is simulated using a model based on Voronoi tessellations. The fracture toughness of open-cell foams with Voronoi cells, including Mode-I, Mode-II, and the mixed-mode ones, are calculated by the finite-element method based on a micromechanical model. Cracks in the micromechanical model are created through removing some number of cells pertaining to the crack length. Displacement boundary conditions are applied to the boundary of a small region surrounding the crack tip, which are calculated based on the linear elastic fracture mechanics. The effects of relative density, disorder factor and sample size on the predicted elastic properties and fracture toughness of open-cell foams with Voronoi cells are discussed and compared with results available in the literature.