Effects of glycerol monosterate on TPUs crystallization and its foaming behavior

N. Hossieny, M. Nofar, V. Shaayegan, C. B. Park*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

4 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) containing 0-2 wt% glycerol monosterate (GMS) were compounded by a twin screw compounder and then foamed using a batch process and n-butane. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and high-pressure DSC were performed to evaluate the effects of GMS and pressurized butane on the crystallization kinetics of TPU. The results showed that the synergistic effect of GMS and high pressure butane significantly promoted hard segment (HS) crystallization in the TPU-GMS samples. The TPU-GMS samples showed significant increase in crystallinity over a wide range of saturation temperatures in the presence of butane compared to neat melt-compounded TPU (PR-TPU). Comparing the foam characteristics of PR-TPU and TPU-GMS samples, it was observed that both samples exhibited microcellular morphology with high cell density over a wide range of processing temperatures of 150°C - 170°C. However at a high foaming temperature (170°C), PR-TPU foams showed high cell coalescence compared to TPU-GMS. Furthermore, TPU-GMS samples showed a much higher expansion ratio compared to PR-TPU over a wide range of processing temperatures. The lubricating effect of GMS assisted the HS to stack together and form crystalline domains. These HS crystalline domains are present at high temperature acting both as a heterogeneous nucleating sites as well as reinforcement leading to the observed microcellular morphology with a high expansion ratio in TPU-GMS samples.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationProceedings of PPS 2013 - 29th International Conference of the Polymer Processing Society, Conference Papers
PublisherAmerican Institute of Physics Inc.
Pages374-377
Number of pages4
ISBN (Print)9780735412279
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2014
Externally publishedYes
Event29th International Conference of the Polymer Processing Society, PPS 2013 - Nuremberg, Germany
Duration: 15 Jul 201319 Jul 2013

Publication series

NameAIP Conference Proceedings
Volume1593
ISSN (Print)0094-243X
ISSN (Electronic)1551-7616

Conference

Conference29th International Conference of the Polymer Processing Society, PPS 2013
Country/TerritoryGermany
CityNuremberg
Period15/07/1319/07/13

Keywords

  • Crystallization
  • Microcellular Foams
  • Thermoplastic Polyurethane

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