Polymer Engineering and Science, Vol.43, No.7, 1378-1390, 2003
Effects of die geometry on cell nucleation of PS foams blown with CO2
This paper investigates the effect of varying the geometry of the die on the cell nucleation behavior of extruded PS foams blown with CO2. Three interchangeable groups of carefully calibrated filamentary dies have been used in the experimental study. The dies were deliberately designed to have either different pressure drop rates while having identical die pressures and flow rates, or different die pressures while having identical pressure drop rates and flow rates. The experimental results revealed that the geometry of the die governs the cell density of extruded PS foams, especially because of its significant effect on the pressure drop rate across the die. However, the effect of the die back pressure on the cell density was found to be marginal, whereas its effect on the cell morphology was found to be predominant. In addition, regardless of die geometry, the CO2 content proved to be a very sensitive parameter with respect to the cell nucleation behavior of extruded PS foams. On the other hand, the cell density was slightly improved by an increase of the talc content, especially at reduced concentrations of CO2.