Cell structure-impact property relationship of polypropylene/thermoplastic elastomer blend foams

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of cellular structure on the impact strength of polypropylene/polyolefin elastomers blend foams produced by the continuous extrusion process. To create different cell sizes, two chemical blowing agents were employed: azodicarbonamide and...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inExpress polymer letters Vol. 13; no. 5; pp. 429 - 442
Main Authors Heidari, A., Fasihi, M.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Budapest Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Department of Polymer Engineering 01.05.2019
Budapest University of Technology
Subjects
Blowing agents
Carbon dioxide
Cellular structure
Chemical industry
Continuous extrusion
Correlation analysis
Elastomers
foam
Impact strength
Morphology
Organic chemistry
Particle size
Plastic foam
Polyethylene
Polymer blends
Polymer blends and alloys
Polyolefins
Polypropylene
Rubber
Science
Sodium bicarbonate
Studies
Thermoplastic elastomer
Wall thickness
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of cellular structure on the impact strength of polypropylene/polyolefin elastomers blend foams produced by the continuous extrusion process. To create different cell sizes, two chemical blowing agents were employed: azodicarbonamide and sodium bicarbonate. Sodium bicarbonate created foams with bigger cell size and cell wall thickness than azodicarbonamide. The impact strength of the neat and blend foams were studied and correlated to the foam properties and structure. It was observed that the impact strength of blend foams was directly related to the concentration of polyolefin elastomers (POE). Increasing POE by up to 30 wt% increased the foam impact strength by more than 400%. On the other hand, Increasing POE content caused the cell size and cell wall thickness to be reduced. Moreover, an attempt has been made to establish a relationship between the impact strength and cellular structural parameters. It was found that in the blend foams with higher cell wall thickness the rough fracture of the cell walls was intensified and in turn, the impact strength of the foams improved further.
ISSN:1788-618X
1788-618X
DOI:10.3144/expresspolymlett.2019.36