Strategies to Achieve a Uniform Cell Structure with a High Void Fraction in Advanced Structural Foam Molding

Abstract

Structural foams offer numerous advantages over their solid counterparts, including greater geometrical accuracy, the absence of sink marks on the final product’s surface, lower weight (and, by extension, the need for less material), and a higher stiffness-to-weight ratio. The possibility of achieving a suitable void fraction in structural foams using conventional structural foam molding methods, however, has been of limited success; these methods allow for little control and typically yield large voids and a nonuniform cell structure. This article reports on our use of an advanced structural foam molding machine to achieve a uniform cell structure with a high void fraction. We studied the following processing parameters: injection flow rate, blowing agent content, and melt temperature. The pressure profile inside the mold cavity under various processing conditions was also investigated to elucidate cell nucleation and growth behaviors. By optimizing all processing conditions, we achieved a uniform cell structure and a very high void fraction (over 40%).