THE EFFECT OF PARTICLE SIZE AND SHAPE OF THE NUCLEATING AGENT ON THE FOAMING BEHAVIOR OF A STYRENE BUTADIENE BLOCK COPOLYMER

摘要

In this study the physical foaming of a styrene butadiene block copolymer (SBC) using different grades of mineral fillers as nucleating agent was examined. The aim was to determine, how the mean particle size and shape of the filler influence the foam morphology and the processing of styrene butadiene block copolymer foam. Therefore, several compounds were prepared with a twin screw extruder using calcium carbonate (CaC03), talcum and glass bubble grades with distinct mean particle sizes. The different filler types were used to investigate the effect of the particle shape on the foam morphology of the SBC polymer. In this study spherical (glass bubbles), cubical (calcium carbonate) and plate-like (talcum) particle shapes were examined. All compounds were characterized with a cone plate rheometer to compare the influence of the different filler grades on the rheological properties. Their foaming behavior was investigated by using a single screw extruder with a screw diameter of 45 mm and supercritical CO2 as foaming agent. The different mineral fillers were compared, due to their effect on the maximum cell density, in terms of cell size and the foam density.