The microstructure and mechanical response of porous polymers

Porous polymers exhibit complex microstructures which affect their mechanical and physical properties. Pores in the microstructure are the result of the addition of polymer microspheres, and potentially by gas entrained during mixing operations. A combination of direct observation and finite element modeling has shown that accounting for the stiffening effect of the microspheres is important, and that strain localization occurs due to microstructural heterogeneity and interactions generated by the large gas pores.