Automated Process Control System for the Production of Advanced Foam Materials Using a Programmable Logic Controller

Abstract

Obtaining foam materials with high physical and mechanical properties is one of the most important tasks, associated with the needs of the chemical industry, medicine, mechanical engineering and space technology. Known methods for producing foam materials create foam materials by foaming aqueous dispersions of high polymers, using thermal decomposition of organic and inorganic substances, by using radiation degradation of a thermoplastic polymer; by foaming polyurethane compositions by injection of condensed hydrogen under high pressure and others. All these methods, on the one hand, are uneconomical and harmful. The toxicity of thermal decomposition products and the unfavorable influence of the chemical nature of gas-forming agents worsen the properties of the resulting material. On the other hand, these processes only produce certain foams, which greatly limit their applicability to a wide range of foams. This article presents the developed automated process control system of production of advanced foam materials using a programmable logic controller, in the RAM of which a computer program is embedded, which allows the use of vibroturbulization intensive mixing with optimal parameters for the formation of electrolytic hydrogen bubbles from the hydrogen gas entering to the chamber with a thermoplastic, obtained separately in the electrolysis chamber by electrolysis of water, and uniform saturation by them of the thermoplastic at its melting temperature in automatic mode.