Premium
Processing and cell morphology relationships for microcellular foamed PVC/wood‐fiber composites
Author(s) -
Matuana Laurent M.,
Park Chul B.,
Balatinecz John J.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
polymer engineering and science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.503
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1548-2634
pISSN - 0032-3888
DOI - 10.1002/pen.11758
Subject(s) - materials science , composite material , fiber , morphology (biology) , plasticizer , biology , genetics
In this research, the effects of the materials and the processing conditions on the cell morphology of foamed PVC/wood‐fiber composites were studied with a view to establishing their process‐structure relationships. Each step of microcellular PVC/wood‐fiber composites processing is addressed, including the surface treatment of the wood‐fiber, mixing of polymer and wood‐fiber, manufacture of the composites, the saturation of the composites with gas, microcellular foaming of the composites, and characterization of the cell morphology. The cellular morphologies of the foamed PVC/wood‐fiber composites are a strong function of the content of plasticizer and the surface treatment of wood‐fiber as well as the gas saturation and foaming conditions.