Polymer Engineering Faculty Research

Title

Modeling Particle Inflation from Poly(amic acid) Powdered Precursors (Part II): Morphological Development During Bubble Growth

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2007

Abstract

The morphological development of cellular polyimide microstructures from poly(amic acid) powders has been shown to depend on the processing conditions throughout the inflation process and the morphological characteristics of the precursor particles. In an earlier publication the authors presented a numerical study of the preliminary stages prior to particle inflation when the processing temperature is below the glass transition temperature, Tg. In the present article, a second numerical scheme is presented for behavior above Tg in which bubble growth is modeled to account for the effect of multiple phenomena in the final stages of morphological development. The bubble growth kinematics and subsequent cessation of growth are predicted as a function of process parameters and material properties. Morphological characteristics of the precursor particles have also been shown to influence the kinematics of inflation. These results provide a clearer understanding of the solid-state foaming processes for polyimide cellular materials.

Publication Title

Society of Plastics Engineers

Volume

47

First Page

572

Last Page

581

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