Polymer Engineering and Science, Vol.47, No.5, 572-581, 2007
Modeling particle inflation from poly(amic acid) powdered precursors. II. Morphological development during bubble growth
The morphological development of cellular polyimide microstructures from poly(amic acid) powders has been shown to depend on the processing conditions throughout the inflation process and the morphological characteristics of the precursor particles. In an earlier publication the authors presented a numerical study of the preliminary stages prior to particle inflation when the processing temperature is below the glass transition temperature, T-g. In the present article, a second numerical scheme is presented for behavior above T-g in which bubble growth is modeled to account for the effect of multiple phenomena in the final stages of morphological development. The bubble growth kinematics and subsequent cessation of growth are predicted as a function of process parameters and material properties. Morphological characteristics of the precursor particles have also been shown to influence the kinematics of inflation. These results provide a clearer understanding of the solid-state foaming processes for polyimide cellular materials.