Numerical modelling of thermoplastic CO2 assisted extrusion foaming: Exploring the process-microstructure relationship
Mustafa ALTINISIK, Margot CHAUVET, Martial SAUCEAU, Raffaele D’ELIA, Romain SESCOUSSE, Fabien BAILLON, Guilhem MICHON
Abstract. This study presents a comprehensive numerical modeling approach for thermoplastic foams processing, produced via supercritical CO₂-assisted extrusion foaming. The model focuses on the nucleation and growth of bubbles within the polymer matrix, employing the influence volume approach to simulate these dynamics. Key phenomena such as gas diffusion, nucleation rate, bubble growth, and the evolution of influence and non-influence volumes are captured to predict foam microstructure and cellular density. Results highlight the model’s capability to predict equilibrium bubble sizes ranging from micrometers to hundreds of micrometers, offering insights into foam behavior and microstructure control. The final size distribution will be used to create on Paraview® the microstructure that will be compared to experimental observations in the future.
Keywords
Supercritical Fluid, Thermoplastic Polymer, Simulation, Acoustic, Foaming
Published online 5/7/2025, 8 pages
Copyright © 2025 by the author(s)
Published under license by Materials Research Forum LLC., Millersville PA, USA
Citation: Mustafa ALTINISIK, Margot CHAUVET, Martial SAUCEAU, Raffaele D’ELIA, Romain SESCOUSSE, Fabien BAILLON, Guilhem MICHON, Numerical modelling of thermoplastic CO2 assisted extrusion foaming: Exploring the process-microstructure relationship, Materials Research Proceedings, Vol. 54, pp 2391-2398, 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21741/9781644903599-258
The article was published as article 258 of the book Material Forming
Content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI.
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