Polymeric foams are widely used both as structural and as thermal insulating material. Few detailed data about the process of foam growth are reported in the literature, especially for recently developed polyurethane formulations that involve the use of a volatile organic compound instead of the banned chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). In this work, a dedicated device was realized that allows experimental data collection for polymeric foams growth in terms of temperature and density profiles. For modeling and simulation purposes, a model reported in the literature was modified by improving, in particular, the description of the vapor-liquid phase equilibrium for the system blowing agent/polymer mixture. Simulation of the collected experimental data was performed by this model after the determination of the kinetic parameters for the occurring reaction between polyol and isocyanate. (C) 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.