NSF Award
9260553
Thermoplastics are not widely used in polar regions because they embrittle and may lose 70% of their fracture toughness at low temperature. MCF Foam structure is created by induced thermodynamic instability in plastics supersaturated with inert gas (non-CFC). The resulting cell structure incorporates 109 to 1015 void per cm3, at a size of 0.3 to 20 microns. MCF thermoplastics have shown better fracture toughness, impact strength and fatigue in tests at room temperature. The research will focus in three areas. Morphology and physical properties will be quantified for several polymers under varying process parameters, including supersaturation, nucleation, skin thickness and cell size. If feasibility is demonstrated, MCF thermoplastics could replace metals and composites in polar region construction where low-cost, light-weight, rigid structural materials are required.
