Effects of composition and temperature of initial mixture on the formation and properties of polyurethane foam

The purpose of the study is to optimize the initial conditions of the molding process of a multicomponent mixture into a refrigerator cabinet. Polyurethane foaming has been studied with different starting compositions and temperatures of the initial mixture. The kinetic mechanism has involved four reactions and species species. Using a standard recipe, the chemical kinetics and the numerical implementation have been first validated against the experimental values of the filling time and the density of the final foam. Thereafter, 11,763 different initial conditions are calculated. The results put in evidence that the filling time can be reduced without any significant change in the precursors of the rigidity of the foam. The final temperature of the foam has always remained lower than the limiting temperature so that thermal material deformations in the walls of the cabinet can be avoided. Increasing the physical blowing agent mass fraction beyond the standard recipe does not appear to be a useful option.