Frequency Dependence of Poisson's Ratio of Viscoelastic Elastomer Foam

All polymer foams are viscoelastic; for foams used in earplugs, this response is essential to their function. Poisson's ratio was inferred from viscoelastic response of earplug foam in torsion and bending. Poisson's ratio increases with frequency as a result of stress induced air flow. Air within the pores contributes to the overall bulk modulus at high frequency, but not at low frequency at which it easily flows when the foam is deformed. Such behaviour is the opposite of that of solid polymers in which the shear modulus varies with frequency much more than the bulk modulus.