Micromechanical properties of shear stiffening gel reinforced ethylene–vinyl acetate foam.

• SSG significantly affects the microstructural characteristics of EVA foam. • A unique two-phase structure forms on the cell wall of EVA/SSG foam. • The change of microstructure affects the deformation mode of the composite foam. In previous study, a novel composite foam that possesses cushioning properties is developed by incorporating shear stiffening gel (SSG) into Ethylene-vinyl (EVA) foam. In this work, uniaxial compression is used to obtain the mechanical properties of the proposed material under static loading. The test results demonstrate the additive SSG could effectively enhance the energy absorption capacity. With the aid of in-situ Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), two characteristics, the homogeneous microstructural morphology and phase separation between SSG and EVA, are found that played dominant roles in the improvement of cushioning properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]