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Properties and processing characteristics of open‐celled foams produced by leaching NaCl from high density polyethylene
Author(s) -
Bigg D. M.
Publication year - 1981
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.760210204
Subject(s) - materials science , porosity , composite material , leaching (pedology) , polyethylene , volume fraction , composite number , polymer , isotropy , dispersion (optics) , environmental science , physics , quantum mechanics , soil science , optics , soil water
The properties and processing characteristics of open‐celled foams produced by leaching small NaCl particles from high density polyethylene has been investigated. In a random dispersion of salt particles in the polymer matrix a minimum volume loading of 40 percent was required to produce an open‐celled foam. The time required to remove this quantity of salt with 50°C water was 100 min. The maximum porosity of the foam is limited to the maximum packing fraction of the salt. For randomly dispersed isotropic particles the maximum packing fraction is approximately 0.64. Because the composite rapidly loses melt strength as the filler content nears the maximum packing fraction, the practical upper limit of extruded foam porosity is approximately 0.60.