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A numerical study of bubble growth during low pressure structural foam molding process
Author(s) -
Arefmanesh A.,
Advani S. G.,
Michaelides E. E.
Publication year - 1990
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.760302011
Subject(s) - bubble , materials science , dimensionless quantity , mechanics , compressibility , isothermal process , flow (mathematics) , composite material , thermodynamics , physics
The bubble size distribution created by the expanding foam plays a key role in controlling the load‐bearing and other mechanical properties of the manufactured structural foam part. A numerical method to study the bubble growth and predict the bubble size distribution in polymeric foams is presented. On the microscopic scale, a cell model has been used. A cell is a system composed of a hypothetical spherical gas bubble and an envelope of polymer with constant mass surrounding the bubble. On the macroscopic scale, the foam has been modeled as a compressible medium consisting of a number of cells growing in close proximity to each other. The coupled system of the bubble growth equations for a cell and the field equations for the polymeric fluid are solved numerically to predict the spatial bubble size distribution and the flow front movement during the expansion process. The influence of different dimensionless parameters on the growth of spatially distributed bubbles and on the relative reduction in the transient bulk foam density, under isothermal condition; has been predicted. The existence of an axial pressure gradient in the mold due to the spatial variation of bubble growth is demonstrated through numerical experiments.