Bubble growth in thermoplastic structural foams

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Abstract
The inflation and growth kinetics of bubbles in thermoplastic structural foams are discussed in some detail using a model which assumes the initial existence of very small voids in the pressurized polymer melt. The effects of a drop in external pressure, the presence of a distribution of bubble sizes, and the diffusion of gas between neighboring bubbles are considered. It is shown that at a given pressure the number of growing bubbles present in the melt at any onetime depends on the ratio of the critical radius to the average radius of the microvoids assumed to be present in the melt It is also demonstrated that gas diffusion between neighboring bubbles reduces the growth rate appreciably only when the interbubble distance is reduced to a micron or less.

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