Effect of Processing on the Fracture Behavior of Expanded Polystyrene Foams

摘要

The effect of a foam processing parameter called steam time on the fracture temperature is reported in this study. Five EPS foam patterns processed with variable steam times of 8, 11, 14, 17 and 20 seconds were used in this study. The fracture temperature was studied using dynamic mechanical thermal analysis. While the fracture surface morphology was investigated using scanning microscopy. The fracture temperature increases with the duration of the steaming stage during the molding process. The fracture temperature exhibits a dependence on the frequency. Preliminary results indicate that dynamic mechanical thermal analysis has the potential to serve as the basis for the development of a new experimental technique for the characterization of fracture behavior of EPS.