Effect of PVC plastisol composition and processing conditions on foam expansion and tear strength

Abstract

The quality of vinyl floorings depends mainly on the right control of the formation of poly (vinyl chloride) (PVC) foam structure. Many process parameters influence the cellular structure and final properties of the PVC foam. In this paper the influence of concentration of blowing agent and calcium carbonate filler as well as temperature and time of the blowing process on the expansion ratio and tear strength of the PVC foam were studied. Moreover, regression analysis was performed in order to determine the significance of studied parameters influence on expansion ratio and tear strength of PVC foams. It was found that concentration of the blowing agent in the plastisol mixture had the principal influence on the expansion ratio of the PVC foam. Tear strength was found to depend more or less equally on all studied parameters. The study has also shown that the addition of calcium carbonate filler had insignificantly lowered the expansion ratio but at the same time it could significantly lower the cost of the final product. This effect was practically employed to improve the economic efficiency of the PVC floorings production in JUTEKS plant in Russia.