Destruction values of Styrofoam

[AppleMaker]

I know this material is very fragile, but how much J/cc it would have for fragmentation, violent fragmentation and pulverization?

 

[AppleMaker]

Bump

 

[AppleMaker]

Basically I came up with this question, since I got an idea of one verse, that is supposed to be fodderish af. The premise of it - characters are average humans drawn in cartoon style and basically use their "toon force" as much as possible, and then it turns out it was either not real/staged or made of something really fragile (for example - one character makes a hole in the "universe" and turns out it was a cover made of thin fragile fabric, that they planned to use for their performance on the scene). And Styrofoam seems to be perfect material to make such powerful feats as "destroying a building" a lot more fodderish and achievable for average humans

 

[VictoriaGenesisBOA]

• Typical density (ρ): 20 kg/m³ (common for standard EPS foam).
• Typical plateau stress (σ_p): Approximately 100 kPa (0.1 MPa), based on compressive strength data for EPS at similar densities (compressive strength at 10% deformation is around 13-15 psi or 90-100 kPa).
• Strain to densification (ε_d): Approximately 0.6 (60% compression), a standard value for EPS foams where densification begins and the foam is fully crushed.
• Energy per unit volume (W): W ≈ σ_p × ε_d = 100,000 Pa × 0.6 = 60,000 J/m³ (or 60 kJ/m³).
• Volume of the block (V): 1 m³ (assumed standard block size for calculation).
• Total energy required (U): U = W × V = 60 kJ.

To crush a 1 m³ block of typical Styrofoam (20 kg/m³) to the point of significant deformation or breaking, approximately 60 kJ (Wall Level) of energy is required. (If only accounting the compressive strength and deformation distance)

That's only 0.06 J per cubic centimeter.

For denser, 55 kg/m³ polystyrene foam, energy absorption is around 250 kJ/m³ (Still Wall Level), per Research Gate. This is a more detailed analysis.

Still only 0.25 J per cubic centimeter.

So a building with 1000 m³ (Almost a large building) of solid will only take 60 MJ to destroy with 20 kg/m³, barely Small Building Level.

 

[AppleMaker]

• Typical density (ρ): 20 kg/m³ (common for standard EPS foam).
• Typical plateau stress (σ_p): Approximately 100 kPa (0.1 MPa), based on compressive strength data for EPS at similar densities (compressive strength at 10% deformation is around 13-15 psi or 90-100 kPa).
• Strain to densification (ε_d): Approximately 0.6 (60% compression), a standard value for EPS foams where densification begins and the foam is fully crushed.
• Energy per unit volume (W): W ≈ σ_p × ε_d = 100,000 Pa × 0.6 = 60,000 J/m³ (or 60 kJ/m³).
• Volume of the block (V): 1 m³ (assumed standard block size for calculation).
• Total energy required (U): U = W × V = 60 kJ.

To crush a 1 m³ block of typical Styrofoam (20 kg/m³) to the point of significant deformation or breaking, approximately 60 kJ (Wall Level) of energy is required. (If only accounting the compressive strength and deformation distance)

That's only 0.06 J per cubic centimeters.

For denser, 55 kg/m³ polystyrene foam, energy absorption is around 250 kJ/m³ (Still Wall Level), per Research Gate. This is a more detailed analysis.

Still only 0.25 J per cubic centimeters.

So a building with 1000 m³ (Near a large building) of solid will only take 60 MJ to destroy with 20 kg/m³, barely Small Building Level.

Thanks