THE EFFECT OF WOOD POWDER ON POLYMER FOAM NUCLEATION

摘要

It is usually reported that wood particles in wood/polymer composite foams can act as nucleating sites. Since high wood contents are used, it is difficult to determine exactly the effect of wood particles. In this study, LDPE was chemically foamed in a twin-screw extruder and small amounts of wood (0-5 phr) were added to determine their effect. Particle size was investigated using three mesh sizes: 45-61, 104-125 and 180-210 μm. As expected, wood particles are acting as nucleating agents reducing substantially cell size and increasing cell density.