In this paper, dynamic mechanical properties of luffa sponge
columns were tested to investigate performance of this lightweight
material. Uniaxial dynamic compressive tests were conducted
at strain rates of 100 and 102 s1 by using a High Rate Instron
machine to study the dynamic strength and energy absorption of
the luffa sponge material. Cylindrical specimens with different
relative densities were tested at a room temperature of 22 C and
a humidity of around 40%. An energy efficiency method was
adopted to obtain the values of the densification strain and plateau
stress, and thus the energy absorption capacity per unit volume. The
experimental results were discussed together with quasi-static data
from our previous research [3] and other popular cellular materials.