An ultrafast and clean method to manufacture poly(vinyl alcohol) bead foam products

Xu, Dawei; Wang, Qi

doi:10.1002/pat.5076

Cited by 15 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…The soft segment in the polymer plays a significant role in absorbing CO 2 gas. , When the polymer has a higher crystalline hard segment, the chances of CO 2 being absorbed are lower because of the barrier effect of the crystalline region. , For reference, melting and crystalline peaks of different grade TPU samples used in this study are analyzed, and the results are shown in Figure S1. DSC curves help differentiate the different grades of the polymer through their melting behavior.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rapid Carbon Dioxide Foaming of 3D Printed Thermoplastic Polyurethane Elastomers

Ponnan

Thirunavukkarasu

Laroui

et al. 2022

ACS Appl. Polym. Mater.

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Polymeric foam preparation using the carbon dioxide (CO2) foaming technique is fascinating. Until now, the CO2-based foaming process has been carried out for a long saturation time. Once it is possible to produce a polymeric foam in a low saturation time, it can enhance foam production. This study investigates the foaming behavior of 3D printed TPU samples with three different hardness values. The variation of infill density in 3D printed samples provides a macroporous range in the sample and creates a path for the gas molecules to reach the polymer. Such a gas flow path expands the foam processing technique to be carried out at low saturation time and pressure. The foaming process carried out here follows two steps: first, CO2 gas saturation in a high-pressure stainless-steel vessel; second, then hierarchical microporous generation by devising a thermodynamically unstable condition by placing the gas saturated sample in a hot water bath set up. The results showed that the increase in saturation time and pressure increases the expansion behavior of the foam samples, whereas an increase in infill density restricts the foam expansion behavior. The crystalline hard segment (HS) enhances the heterogeneous cell nucleation and reduces the shrinkage of the foam samples. The foam sample with low infill density showed low compression strength. It could be improved by filling the macroporous gap with hydrogel during printing. This hydrogel-packed low infill density foam showed an increased compression strength of 0.8 MPa at 80% strain than the neat foam sample (without hydrogel) 0.12 MPa at 80% strain, confirmed through the cyclic compression test. Hence, this 3D printing integrated subcritical solid-state foaming system offers unparalleled freedom to design and create foam and increase its production. The one-pot preparation of low-density higher compression strength foam using hydrogel makes this technique more feasible for high-end applications.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rapid Carbon Dioxide Foaming of 3D Printed Thermoplastic Polyurethane Elastomers

Ponnan

Thirunavukkarasu

Laroui

et al. 2022

ACS Appl. Polym. Mater.

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“…55,60 The final part properties are similar to EPP. 55,60 In a recently published scientific study, Xu et al 61 presented another interesting representative of a biodegradable bead foam. They realized the development of PVA bead foam products based on microwave foaming and sintering.…”

Section: Biopolymer-based Bead Foamsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Progress in the development of bead foams – A review

Kuhnigk

Standau

Dörr

et al. 2022

Journal of Cellular Plastics

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For a long time, the number of available bead foam variants limited to standard polymers which restricted their functionality mainly to packaging, thermal insulation (e.g. in construction) and shock absorption (e.g. in transportation). In particular, standard polymers such as expanded polystyrene, expanded polyethylene and expanded polypropylene were used for components requiring good insulating properties and high energy absorption at low cost. Mainly since the last two decades, new polymer variants have found their way into the world of bead foams and are currently adding further functionalities, such as sustainability, flame retardancy, increased thermal stability and enhanced mechanical performance (e.g. improvements in energy absorption and impact resistance). Versatile fields of application open up, revolutionizing both industry and design sectors. This review article emphasizes the special development progress of new bead foam variants and their processing technologies. Upcoming opportunities of digital methods for modelling and simulation are highlighted.

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“…Recently, the working group of Altstadt realized the welding of chain extender-modified poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT) beads using high-pressure steam (13−17 bar) for the first time. 14 Microwave irradiation was also applied to weld the polymer beads, 15 although it is hard to control and the related welding mechanism is not yet clear. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop an advanced and low-cost strategy for fabricating these highstrength, heat-resistant, and lightweight polymer bead foams.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Facile One-Step Approach to Manufacture Environmentally Friendly Poly(vinyl alcohol) Bead Foam Products

Wang

Yang

2021

Ind. Eng. Chem. Res.

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Bead foaming is a burgeoning technology for manufacturing lightweight polymer parts with complex geometrical structures. Currently, only a few polymers can meet the requirements for bead foaming, which is the critical obstacle facing polymer bead foams for some special applications. Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) bead foaming is of great significance for eco-packaging materials because of its low cost, good biodegradability, and excellent mechanical properties. However, due to its water solubility, the bead foaming of PVA has not yet realized by conventional steam-chest welding. Herein, a facile and efficient method was proposed to manufacture environmentally friendly PVA bead foams by combining thermal processing and supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) foaming. The expansion of plasticized PVA beads and welding of foamed beads were simultaneously completed in our homemade mold. The unique foaming behavior of plasticized PVA bead in the confined space was studied using different plasticizers at various filling contents and foaming temperatures. The macrovoids and boundaries among neighboring beads became indistinct and thus vanished, along with the increase of filling content or welding temperature. At the relatively high temperature, the bimodal cellular structure comprising small cells ranging from 20 to 40 μm and large cells in the range of 60–90 μm are formed in the plasticized PVA bead foams, as well as the formation mechanism was clarified. Benefitting from the uniform structure and high-quality welding, the biodegradable PVA bead foams were provided with high compressive strength and resilience, which might be a promising alternative to traditional polystyrene bead foams.

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An ultrafast and clean method to manufacture poly(vinyl alcohol) bead foam products

Cited by 15 publications

References 47 publications

Rapid Carbon Dioxide Foaming of 3D Printed Thermoplastic Polyurethane Elastomers

Rapid Carbon Dioxide Foaming of 3D Printed Thermoplastic Polyurethane Elastomers

Progress in the development of bead foams – A review

Facile One-Step Approach to Manufacture Environmentally Friendly Poly(vinyl alcohol) Bead Foam Products

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