Microcellular Foaming of PVC/NBR Thermoplastic Elastomer

摘要

This article studies the relationships between processing parameters (including foaming temperature and foaming time) and mechanical and structural properties of microcellular foams of poly vinyl chloride (PVC)itrile butadiene rubber (NBR) thermoplastic elastomer. In this research, miscible blends of PVC/NBR were foamed using a batch system with carbon dioxide as a blowing agent. Two different PVC/ NBR composites (PVC/NBR 5%, PVC/NBR 15%) were used in the experiments. Tensile strength, elastic modulus, and elongation at the break were considered as the mechanical properties of samples. Foam density, cell density, and average cell size were studied in the obtained foams. Results show that foaming parameters considerably influence the mechanical and structural properties of resultant foams. Under most processing conditions, favorable results were obtained based on the design criteria of the foamed parts.