Abstract
Bead foams serve in a wide variety of applications, from insulation and packaging to midsoles in shoes. However, the currently used materials are limited to somewhat low temperature or exhibit significant changes in modulus in the temperature range of many applications due to their glass transition. By comparison, polycarbonate (PC) exhibits almost constant mechanics for temperatures up to 130 °C. Therefore, it appears as an advantageous base material for bead foams. The aim of the publication is to provide comprehensive data on the properties of expanded PC (EPC) in comparison to already commercially available expanded polypropylene, EPP, and expanded polyethylene-terephthalate, EPET. A special focus is set on the thermo-mechanical properties as these are the most lacking features in current materials. In this frame, dynamic mechanical analysis, and tensile, bending, compression and impact tests at room temperature (RT), 80 °C, and 110 °C are conducted for the three materials of the same density. Already at RT, EPC exhibits superior mechanics compared to its peers, which becomes more pronounced toward higher temperature. This comes from the low sensitivity of properties to temperature as EPC is used below its glass transition. In summary, EPC proves to be an outstanding foam material over a broad range of temperatures for structural applications.
Highlights
IntroductionBead foams have become part of our daily life
Over the last decades, bead foams have become part of our daily life
expanded PP (EPP) is usually produced in discontinuous batch foaming processes, which leads to a double melting peak due to annealing
Summary
Bead foams have become part of our daily life. The variety of applicational fields seems endless. From commodity usage as packaging or insulating thermoboxes [1] to highperformance applications in running shoes [2,3], polymer foams play an increasingly important role. The usage fields are limited by the thermal stability of the thermoplastic material. Commodity foams like expanded PS (EPS) or expanded PP (EPP) are usually used for low to mid-temperature applications [4,5], while the variety of polymer foams for higher usage temperatures becomes significantly scarce, especially for engineering materials [6]. A few bead foam options exist for elevated temperature applications, i.e., expanded PET (EPET) distributed by the company
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