Principles and Practical Steps of Simplifying the Construction of the Cushion Curves of Closed-Cell Foam Materials

The cushion curves of cushioning materials play crucial roles in scientific and reliable cushioning designs and in reducing damage losses for fragile products during distributions. The construction methods of cushion curves of closed-cell foam materials (CFMs) mainly include the Janssen factor, Rusch curve, cushion factor, and energy absorption diagram. The construction principle of these methods is reviewed in detail, and their disadvantages are mainly discussed. According to relevant ASTM and GB/T experimental standards, the peak acceleration–static stress cushion curve is based on dynamic impacts, which are most consistent with the dropping situation of product packages, so this kind of cushion curve is the standard and most widely applied for product cushioning designs. However, when generating the peak acceleration–static stress cushion curves, the experimental work is extremely huge. Three methods, namely the dynamic factor method, dynamic stress–dynamic energy method, and dynamic cushion factor–dynamic energy method, can significantly reduce the experimental workload and simplify constructing cushion curves. The novel dynamic cushion factor–dynamic stress method is proposed to simplify constructing the cushion curves. The practical generation steps of constructing cushion curves based on the four simplified methods are created and presented in detail.