Cell-to-cell Diffusion in Plastic Foaming: Modeling, Experiment, and Engineering Applications

Pursuing advanced materials never stops. Due to small cell size, high cell population density, and uniform cell size distribution, plastic foams have been widely applied in the fields of MEMS, biomedical materials, automotive, construction, and so on. During the manufacturing of plastic foams, cell-to-cell diffusion governs the final nature, structure and density of foamed products. Thus, fundamental understanding of cell-to-cell diffusion in plastic foaming is essential. In this book, mechanisms of cell-to-cell diffusion are elucidated through the following studies. Firstly, a theoretical model was developed to simulate foam expansion and collapse of extruded filamentary foam. Secondly, the moving Finite Element Method was utilized to investigate the effects of cell-to-cell diffusion on cell coarsening and cell ripening. Thirdly, the concept of cell-to-cell diffusion was applied to predict long-term thermal insulation performance of polystyrene foam boards. This book should be useful for professionals to develop innovative foaming technology as well as for engineers to manufacture advanced foamed plastic materials.