Rheology and Extrusion Foaming of Partially Crosslinked Thermoplastic Vulcanizates Silicone

Abstract

Abstract This work focuses on the foaming behavior of thermoplastic vulcanized silicones (TPVs) in which partially crosslinked silicone nodules are dispersed. In these TPVs, silicone nodules dispersed in a low density polyethylene (LDPE) phase have an average size of about 1 μm. The crosslinking densities of the elastomer phase were selected according to their viscoelastic behavior. Surprisingly, linear and non-linear shear rheology appeared more sensitive to formulations than extensional rheology. Indeed, each formulation has an extensional rheological behavior similar to that of pure LDPE and meets the requirements for foaming applications in terms of elongation at break and melt strength. In accordance with non-linear shear rheology, the foaming behavior of these formulations has been correlated to extrusion foaming parameters that are known to control nucleation, i. e. pre-die pressure and die exit depressurization rate. With an appropriate crosslinking density of silicone nodules, the TPV foamability tends to the foamability of pure LDPE to reach a foam density of 0.54 g/cm3 with an average cell size of 140 ± 50 μm and a cell density of 3 × 105 cells/cm3. Since partially crosslinked silicone nodules cannot foam, it is assumed that they improve nucleation while allowing sufficient expansion of the LDPE phase.