pps proceeding - Abstract Preview
pps proceeding
Symposium: S03 - Foams
Poster Presentation
 
 

Evaluation of foaming polypropylene modified with ramified polymer.

Demori Renan (1)*, Azeredo Ana Paula (2), Liberman Susana Alcira (1), Mauler Raquel Santos (1)

(1) Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul - Porto Alegre - Rio Grande do Sul - Brazil, (2) Braskem S.A. - Porto Alegre - Rio Grande do Sul - Brazil

Polypropylene foams have great industrial interest because of balanced physical and mechanical properties, recyclability and low cost. However, foaming PP is not a simple task, mainly due its low melt strength, what leads to cells walls rupture under elongational forces during cell growth. As a result, final foam has a high amount of coalesced and open cells which decreases their mechanical properties. To increase melt strength, one of the current solution is blend PP with ramified polymers as polypropylene ramified (PPHMS) or ethylene propylene copolymer (POE). In this study to provide extensional properties and achieve uniform cellular structures of expanded PP, 20 phr of PPHMS or POE was added onto PP matrix. The blend of PP with ramified polymers was prepared by twin-screw extrusion. Injection molding process was used to produce PP foams using azodicarbonamide (ACA) as chemical blowing agent. The morphological result of PP foam displayed a non-uniform geometrical cell, relative density around 0.48 g/cm³ and cell density of 13.9 .104 cell/cm³. Otherwise, the foam obtained with PP blend with PPHMS or POE displayed a homogeneous dispersion of cell structure and increased the amount of cell around 50–100 µm of size. The density slightly increased with addition of PPHMS or POE: 0.64 and 0.57 g/cm³, respectively. Thus, the cell density reduced to 65% in PP/PPHMS 100/20 and 75% in PP/POE 100/20 when compared to expanded PP. The thermo-mechanical properties (DMTA) for expanded PP showed specific stiffness of 159 MPa.cm-3.g-1, while in the sample PP/PPHMS 100/20 increased of stiffness value at 10% than expanded PP. The sample PP/POE 100/20, decrease of specific stiffness at 30%, in relation of PP sample. The blend PP with ramified polymer reduced the effect of coalescence during expanded process. By this method, there is the formation and stabilization of homogeneous cellular structure and increase amount of small cell in the expanded material.