A study on the foaming ratio and optical characteristics of microcellular foamed plastics produced by a repetitive foaming process

Abstract

Microcellular foaming technology has had a great influence on the polymer progress. According to the previous studies, polymer material has the same mechanical strength as general plastic molding products but it can have a lighter weight, and it has the features of insulation and noise suppression. In addition, it shows excellent diffused reflectivity since it has micro-sized cells. This study intends to determine the change microcellular foaming process conditions; it also intends to determine the optical characteristics, And the results of this experiment are shown through foaming ratio, diffused reflectivity, and cell morphology. We examined changes in cell morphology in the inner regions of polycarbonate (PC) samples and the resulting changes in foaming ratios. We also examined the optical characteristics that result when a repetitive foaming process is performed using polymer samples that have already undergone an initial microcellular foaming process. Polycarbonate is an amorphous material with exceptional optical characteristics. The saturation pressure was varied during both the first foaming process and the repetitive foaming process, and the results of the experiment were expressed in terms of foaming ratio, diffused reflectivity, and cell morphology.