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Kweon MS, Embabi M, Shivokhin ME, Gupta A, Yan X, Pehlert G, Lee PC. Tuning High and Low Temperature Foaming Behavior of Linear and Long-Chain Branched Polypropylene via Partial and Complete Melting. Polymers (Basel) 2021; 14:polym14010044. [PMID: 35012070 PMCID: PMC8747320 DOI: 10.3390/polym14010044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2021] [Revised: 12/13/2021] [Accepted: 12/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
While existing foam studies have identified processing parameters, such as high-pressure drop rate, and engineering measures, such as high melt strength, as key factors for improving foamability, there is a conspicuous absence of studies that directly relate foamability to material properties obtained from fundamental characterization. To bridge this gap, this work presents batch foaming studies on one linear and two long-chain branched polypropylene (PP) resins to investigate how foamability is affected by partial melting (Method 1) and complete melting followed by undercooling (Method 2). At temperatures above the melting point, similar expansion was obtained using both foaming procedures within each resin, while the PP with the highest strain hardening ratio (13) exhibited the highest expansion ratio (45 ± 3). At low temperatures, the foamability of all resins was dramatically improved using Method 2 compared to Method 1, due to access to lower foaming temperatures (<150 °C) near the crystallization onset. Furthermore, Method 2 resulted in a more uniform cellular structure over a wider temperature range (120–170 °C compared to 155–175 °C). Overall, strong extensional hardening and low onset of crystallization were shown to give rise to foamability at high and low temperatures, respectively, suggesting that both characteristics can be appropriately used to tune the foamability of PP in industrial foaming applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mu Sung Kweon
- Multifunctional Composites Manufacturing Laboratory (MCML), Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Toronto, 5 King’s College Road, Toronto, ON M5S 3G8, Canada; (M.S.K.); (M.E.)
| | - Mahmoud Embabi
- Multifunctional Composites Manufacturing Laboratory (MCML), Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Toronto, 5 King’s College Road, Toronto, ON M5S 3G8, Canada; (M.S.K.); (M.E.)
| | - Maksim E. Shivokhin
- ExxonMobil Chemical Company, 5200 Bayway Drive, Baytown, TX 77520, USA; (M.E.S.); (A.G.); (X.Y.); (G.P.)
| | - Anvit Gupta
- ExxonMobil Chemical Company, 5200 Bayway Drive, Baytown, TX 77520, USA; (M.E.S.); (A.G.); (X.Y.); (G.P.)
| | - Xuejia Yan
- ExxonMobil Chemical Company, 5200 Bayway Drive, Baytown, TX 77520, USA; (M.E.S.); (A.G.); (X.Y.); (G.P.)
| | - George Pehlert
- ExxonMobil Chemical Company, 5200 Bayway Drive, Baytown, TX 77520, USA; (M.E.S.); (A.G.); (X.Y.); (G.P.)
| | - Patrick C. Lee
- Multifunctional Composites Manufacturing Laboratory (MCML), Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Toronto, 5 King’s College Road, Toronto, ON M5S 3G8, Canada; (M.S.K.); (M.E.)
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +1-(416)-946-5407
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Jang BK, Kim MH, Park OO. Effects of Crystallinity and Molecular Weight on the Melting Behavior and Cell Morphology of Expanded Polypropylene in Bead Foam Manufacturing. Macromol Res 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/s13233-020-8042-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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Hou J, Zhao G, Zhang L, Wang G, Li B. High-expansion polypropylene foam prepared in non-crystalline state and oil adsorption performance of open-cell foam. J Colloid Interface Sci 2019; 542:233-242. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2019.02.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2018] [Revised: 02/05/2019] [Accepted: 02/06/2019] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
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Zhou S, Zhao S, Xin Z, Wang W. A Novel Strategy for Achieving High Melt Strength Polypropylene and an Investigation of Its Foamability. J MACROMOL SCI B 2014. [DOI: 10.1080/00222348.2014.965379] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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Xi Z, Sha X, Liu T, Zhao L. Microcellular injection molding of polypropylene and glass fiber composites with supercritical nitrogen. J CELL PLAST 2014. [DOI: 10.1177/0021955x14528931] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Microcellular injection molding of polypropylene and glass fiber composites (PP-1684/GF-950) was performed using supercritical nitrogen as the physical blowing agent. Based on design of experiment matrices, the influences of glass fiber content and operating conditions on cell structure, glass fiber orientation and mechanical properties of molded samples were studied systematically. The results showed the cell morphology and glass fiber orientation of foaming parts were definitely influenced by the cooling and shear effects. The mechanical properties of foamed polypropylene–glass fiber composites could be effectively enhanced by improving the cell morphology, dispersion state and orientation of the glass fiber at optimal weight percentage [Formula: see text]. And the optimal conditions for injection molding were obtained by analyzing the signal-to-noise ratio analysis of the mechanical properties of the molded samples, which were a shot size of 36 mm, a supercritical N2 weight percentage of 0.4%, an injection speed of 60%, a melt temperature of 190℃ and a mold temperature of 70℃. The molded specimens of polypropylene–glass fiber composites, produced under those optimal conditions, exhibited very uniform fiber dispersion and microcellular structures with an average cell size less than 30 µm. And the mechanical properties normalized by weight ratio of the microcellular samples were increased significantly, especially the impact strength.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhenhao Xi
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, China
| | - Xinyi Sha
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, China
| | - Tao Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, China
| | - Ling Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, China
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