Simultaneous decision analysis on the structural and mechanical properties of polymeric microcellular nanocomposites foamed using CO₂

Abstract

In this study, the effects of nano Fe 2 O 3 content and foaming temperature and time are investigated on the various structural and mechanical properties of polypropylene in a batch foaming process with CO 2 using Taguchi approach. Cell size, relative density, and specific impact strength and hardness are considered as different criteria. The results indicated that the cell sizes are below 10 lm and a 20% improvement is observed in the microcellular nanocomposite samples containing 4 wt % nano Fe 2 O 3 . A 20% improvement is observed in specific impact strength by increasing 4 wt % of nano Fe 2 O 3 . Also, a simultaneous decision analysis is performed and the best sample with respect to considered structural and mechanical properties is selected using multi-criteria decision making methods. The results demonstrated that the microcellular nanocomposite foams containing 4 wt % of nano Fe 2 O 3 are the best samples.

Increasing cell density/decreasing cell size to produce microcellular and nanocellular thermoplastic foams: A review

“…It has been shown that by adding 2 wt% of Fe 2 O 3 to polypropylene, the cell density is increased by 2.5 times. 53 The effect of the weight percentage of nanoclay on the cell density of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) foams has been investigated, and it has been observed that by adding 2 wt% of nanoclay, the cell density of ABS foams is improved approximately by 8 times. 54…”

Effect of microstructure on the properties of polystyrene microporous foaming material

“…As shown in Figure 1a, the compression deformation process of the samples proceeds in three stages. Accordingly, the curve can be divided into three stages: a linearly elastic phase, uniform phase and compaction phase (19)(20)(21)(22). Under the same strain, the corresponding stress decreases with the increase in foaming temperature.…”

Investigating the effect of foam properties on the attenuation of coaxial cables with foamed polyethylene dielectric

“…For instance, in the cable industry decreasing the density through the foaming process leads to reduction of used polymer that will decrease the production expenses. [3][4][5][6][7][8] The processing of these materials is of high importance and working out a relation between structural properties and insulation behavior needs to be studied thoroughly. showed that there was a specific cell size that showed a very low break down strength.…”

“…Moreover, foaming the insulating material can affect other properties such as density and mechanical behavior. For instance, in the cable industry decreasing the density through the foaming process leads to reduction of used polymer that will decrease the production expenses 3‐8 . The processing of these materials is of high importance and working out a relation between structural properties and insulation behavior needs to be studied thoroughly.…”