Foam injection moulding – specific adjustment of foam structure and mechanical propertiesa

Abstract

Abstract This article deals with the possibility of optimising the mechanical properties of foam injection-moulded parts by adjusting the foam structure. By adapting the process, it is possible to manufacture foams of equal density but with different foam structures. A test to determine the influence of the foam structure on the mechanical properties, for example, shows that finer foam cells reduce the modulus under tensile load but hardly affect the flexural modulus. At the same time, a small average cell size results in increased break strain in tensile tests, whereas the strain at break under flexural load is not affected.