ISSN:
0032-3888
Keywords:
Chemistry
;
Chemical Engineering
Source:
Wiley InterScience Backfile Collection 1832-2000
Topics:
Chemistry and Pharmacology
,
Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science, Production Engineering, Mining and Metallurgy, Traffic Engineering, Precision Mechanics
,
Physics
Notes:
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.
Additional Material:
10 Ill.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/pen.760302011
