Blowing Agents and Foaming Processeses 2012 : 14th International Conference, 8-9 May 2012, Mövenpick Hotel Berlin, Germany : [conference proceedings

Now in its fourteenth year, this conference has become firmly established in the plastics community as the meeting place for processors, material suppliers, academics and end-users to exchange ideas and keep up-to-date with developments in this fast growing niche of the polymer sector. Changes in the foam blowing industry have been largely driven by environmental legislation - whether concerns over consumer safety, atmospheric protection or solid waste disposal and recycling. In their primary applications in consumer products, (such as cushioning for furniture and automobiles, thermal insulation for construction and packaging) polymer foams are being continually enhanced to replace dense solid polymers, reducing weight and costs. Indeed, strict energy regulations in most European countries have boosted the use of polymer foams in building and construction, automotive and aerospace sectors where foamed plastics are recognised for their performance and processing advantages as well as the obvious cost and weight savings. Other polymer foams offer functional applications such as sink mark reduction, increased stiffness, insulation properties and a closer natural surface appearance or structure. Contents 4 Session 1: Blowing Agents & Foaming Processes 2012 8 Paper 1 Forty years formulated endothermics in the foamed plastics world 8 Paper 2 Advancements in high performance blowing agents 24 Paper 3 Blowing agent blends – the new norm 38 Paper 4 Performance update of FEA-1100 – a zero ODP and low GWP foam expansion agent 44 Session 2: Extrusion Direct Gassing Processes and Applications 56 Paper 5 Design of experiments in physical foaming and its relation to practice: Sabic developments in foam polyolefins 56 Paper 6 Twin/single tandem laboratory equipment for basic research in foam extrusion 68 Paper 7 Foam-extruded high temperature thermoplastics with different nucleating agents for printed circuit boards 82 Paper 8 XPS insulation board – new machinery developments 98 Paper 9 Extensional stress-induced foaming behaviours of polysytrene-talc composites 108 Session 3: New Aspects, New Foams, Specialities 120 Paper 10 Novel polymer foams for sustainable solutions 120 Paper 11 Rheological properties of cellulose acetate with respect to its foamability: influence of plasticizer and blowing 128 Paper 12 Laser-induced expansion (LIF) of plastics (and expandable matrices) for the production of raised structures and tactile lettering 138 Paper 13 Innovative low density silicone RT-foams 146 Session 4: Injection Moulding New Findings and Efforts 152 Paper 14 Dry ice – physical foam injection moulding the easy way 152 Paper 15 Overmoulding of plane structural foamed parts with a second thermoplastic component 154 Paper 16 Using mould filling tools for large part, multi-drop parts with the MuCellTM process 166 Paper 17 Challenges and possibilities in foaming of semi-crystalline poly(butylene terephthalate) 176 Paper 18 Block copolymer-assisted microcellular supercritical CO2 foaming of polymers and blends 182 Session 5: Biodegradables and Nanostructures 192 Paper 19 Effects of talc and compounding on morphology and mechanical properties of lowpressure-injection-moulded structural polylactide foams 192 Paper 20 Multifunctional nanocomposite foams based on polypropylene with carbon nanofillers 204 Session 6: News from Research and Development Activities 216 Paper 21 Reinforced particle foams 216 Paper 22 Density graded polyethylene foams produced by compression moulding using a chemical blowing agent 224 Paper 23 Improving XPS insulation boards and new insulation products 238 Paper 24 Research progress in High melt strength polypropylene 248 Reach For Polymers Advert for all books 254 These proceedings contain all the presentations from this conference which is now in its fourteenth consecutive year. As the only conference tailored to the specific needs of the polymeric foam industry, this event provided a forum for speakers to showcase new materials and processing technologies that will improve current application performance and benefit from improving or replacing existing material and process selections. As raw material costs still continue to pose a significant economic challenge to manufacturers in high volume markets, end-users are increasingly sourcing novel material