Analysis of compaction in brittle foam with multiscale indentation tests

Lightweight plasterboard is a product composed of “plaster foam” core whose porosity can reach 75 vol%, lined with two sheets of paper. To optimize the trade-off between thermal resistance and mechanical strength, it is important to understand and characterize the mechanical behavior of plasterboard. Core compaction of plasterboard is one of the prevalent degradation mechanisms. This mechanism is studied herein using in-situ indentation experiments performed at two different scales. The first test was carried out in a lab tomograph. The second test was conducted on the high resolution synchrotron ID19 beamline at ESRF. Very early damage is revealed. The basic mechanism of pore collapse and its gradual development is detected in contrast with mesoscale observations where compaction appears very abrupt.